


Over and Over

by eternalglitch



Series: Over and Over [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU where Sans remembers all of the RESETS, Angst, Bad time for all characters involved basically, Frisk's Pronouns are They/Them, Gen, Suicide mention, spoilers for all routes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-05-16 22:43:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 59,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5843791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalglitch/pseuds/eternalglitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk opened their eyes. They sat up and their eyes landed on the golden flowers once again. How many times had it been now...? A story on Frisk and Sans, both trapped in an unstoppable RESET loop and unaware of the inner demons each faces alone. As time passes and neither can escape the repetition of the days, the two must work together before they become enemies forever.<br/>How much does it take until one's DETERMINATION shatters...?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Eternity here. Thanks for reading my work, I hope you enjoy it!

Today…. Today was a bad day.

Frisk sat up, rubbing their eyes as they glanced around uneasily. A carpet of bright, golden flowers lay crushed beneath their small body, and as Frisk tilted their head upwards they could see a dim circle of sunlight way, way up from where they had fell.

It wasn't the fact they had fallen from such a height that upset Frisk. The main issue here was that… Frisk had been here before.

But Frisk didn't remember hitting RESET.

So, what then, was Frisk doing back here? Everyone was happy. Everyone had made it out. Everyone had watched the sunrise together. Toriel had given Frisk a home. Frisk had a family that cared about them now. Everything had been as it should be. So why...?

Maybe Flowey will tell me, Frisk determined after another moment of silence. They stood, stretching as their limbs suddenly shrieked in protest. Ah. Right. They had fallen, hadn't they? That was what had started this entire adventure, after all. They had decided that it wasn't worth living with the humans anymore so… so…

Frisk shook their head, pushing these thoughts out of their mind. No. They had a place in the world now. Although they had been right back then… after all, they didn't fit in with people but monsters… monsters suited Frisk just fine. Monsters were nicer than humans anyways.

Frisk hesitatingly started feeling their way along the dark corridors, pausing every few moments to glance around. They paused at the arch entrance, peering into the pitch-black room where a single patch of grass sat, illuminated among the darkness. A solitary golden flower swayed there, almost as if it was a perfectly normal flower on a windy day. But this was the Underground. There was no wind here.

"Howdy kid… what are you doing there? Come on out, golly, I haven't seen anyone down here in ages!" The flower suddenly chirped in a sweet voice, turning it's face to look at Frisk as the flower gestured invitingly.

Frisk hesitated, then stepped into the darkness and approached the flower. "Gosh, it's so sad you're here all alone, kid, you must be terrified!" Flowey greeted. "I'm Flowey the Flower, and I guess it's up to little ol' me to show you the basics of the Underground, huh?"

"….Flowey." Frisk interjected. "Don't you remember me?"

"...remember?" Instantly the flower was on guard, eyeing Frisk with narrowed eyes before drawing up that cheerful façade again. "No… have we met somewhere?"

"?" Frisk stared at Flowey, unable to understand. What? Flowey was the only one that had ever seemed to remember when Frisk had died, and had revealed that he could use SAVE points as well at one point in time. If Flowey didn't remember… Frisk felt light headed all of a sudden, and they grasped their forehead as pain laced through their thoughts. "Ow," Frisk whispered. "ow, ow, ow…" They shivered for a moment, and then they made a decision. Cracking open one eye, Frisk offered a wobbly smile. "Sorry, Flowey… I got you confused with someone else. What… what were you saying?"

And the flower grinned again, all back to excitedly explaining about friendliness pellets. Frisk just smiled and braced themselves against the pain. It was okay. They were okay. They had done this once. Doing it all over again one time for the sakes of their new family and friends… that was ok. That was worth it.

.

After that, Frisk was careful to do everything exactly the same way they had done it the last time they had gotten through the Underground. They talked cheerfully with every monster, bought lots of food at the local bake sale, and tightly clutched Toriel's hand when she took the child through the ruins. Frisk could almost relax and have fun at this point, forgetting the problem at hand in the presence of their adopted mother.

It hurt when they said goodbye, although perhaps not as bad as the first time. If all went according to plan, they would see her in a few days' time.

It was ok. It was worth it.

.

The first anomaly came when Frisk met Sans again. They had watched, with a keen gaze no normal child should have at their age, every movement around them for any possible hint of what caused the RESET this round.

And Sans was… well. Frisk considered him and Papyrus like older brothers. But Sans was different in a way Frisk had somewhat been suspicious of from the start. See, sometimes Sans did things that seemed not to add up. He popped up a lot in places he shouldn't have gotten to so fast. He was the judge for any cruel deed humans did in the underground, and Frisk was wearily glad they had never seen what happened to whoever got the bad side of him. It probably wasn't very pretty.

But nevertheless, despite strange glances, quirky remarks, and peculiar choices in timing, Sans was fun to be around. He cared about Frisk, and could always make them laugh. Frisk was so glad when they heard the presence crunch through the snow to stop behind him, to hear Sans's voice again.

" …human."

Something about the voice made Frisk almost flinch. It wasn't quite the terror Frisk had felt when he first faced the unknown entity- it was more to the tone of… was that accusation? That Frisk could hear in the skeleton's voice.

"…don't you know how to greet a new pal? turn around and shake my hand."

Frisk turned, reaching out as they grasped for his friend's hand. The sound that emanated was unsurprising, considering Frisk had seen all of this before, but they couldn't stop the snicker that always followed when Frisk saw one of Sans's jokes, even if it was a joke as juvenile as using a whoopee cushion in tense situations.

Frisk, however, didn't miss the long examination Sans gave them while they were laughing. And they also didn't miss the murmured line that Sans whispered that they definitely did not remember. "...did you not like how things were where you came from, kid? …shame."

And then Sans laughed and continued talking like the comment was natural, but Frisk had already realized that Sans knew something.

Whatever it was, though, Frisk didn't ask. They could always ask later, after they escaped the Underground with everyone once again.

.

Asides from a few comments from Sans, Frisk followed their footsteps as exactly as possible and found little had changed. Their heart became bruised and battered once again, and Frisk fell more times than they cared to admit, but they always stood up more times than they fell. Call it stubbornness if you like, but Frisk knew they could do this. The second time should be easy in comparison, right?

And it was. Frisk managed to do it all over again. Frisk managed to hold their ground and not hurt anyone again and they were so, so happy when they finally reached the end again…

"Do you have anywhere to go?" Toriel asked softly, watching the sun as it slowly ended it's beautiful display.

"…can I… can I stay with you?" Frisk asked softly, reaching up again for their mother's hand.

"…of course, Frisk, you silly child."

.

Frisk stirred, slowly starting to wake up. They were home again… thank goodness. Frisk lay there, feeling tired from their trek through the Underground. Once was hard enough, two and Frisk was exhausted… but that was ok. Frisk had everyone back now. Today, maybe, Frisk would ask Sans what the strange behavior had been about.

They opened their eyes.

A view of a carpet of bright, golden flowers greeted them as they looked around.

…This wasn't their bedroom.


	2. Chapter Two

Frisk bolted to their feet, eyes flicking around as they started shaking. "No… not again!" They covered their ears, squinting their eyes shut, struggling to remember how. How had this happened not once, but twice in a row?

Frisk was sure they weren't doing it. There was no way. Unless… unless they doing something similar to sleepwalking. But... no. That wasn't how this was supposed to work, how could they possibly have focused on DETERMINATION while asleep?

Struggling not to panic, Frisk slid down a wall and buried their face into their arms for a good hour, wondering if they would wake up from this nightmare if they just pretended this wasn't happening. But of course this didn't work. Eventually, they uncurled, standing up and listlessly looking at the flowers lying scattered around their feet. Could they do it... again?

Frisk nodded, fists tightening. It.. it was still ok. It was still worth it. Frisk could still keep going…!

Frisk resigned themselves to another long trek, heading back to the darkness where Flowey awaited.

.

"Howdy kid… what are you doing there? Are you alone? I'm Flowey the flower, nice to meet you!"

"…" Frisk stared wearily at the flower. Was Flowey doing this and just pretending he didn't remember Frisk? It matched up with the flower's personality but Asriel had been awakened the first time around. Flowey had been transformed back into the kind, caring monster he had started out as. None of this made any sense.

"…Hi, Flowey. I'm lost… can you help me out?" Frisk asked softly, forcing a smile with a small amount of effort onto their face. They felt like crying, but they had to smile and just get through it. If they somehow didn't RESET this time, then the memories of those around them would be permanent this time and any impressions Frisk made would be lasting. And Frisk didn't want anything other than the haven of what they had achieved back in the past.

Or was it now the future?

.

Frisk wanted to run through the world, but they made sure to follow their path. Even when it would have been faster just to kill monsters than to talk to them and carefully make friends with anything that moved, that wasn't the kind of person Frisk was.

Frisk wasn't like the people who had driven them to climb the mountain, after all.

This round, Frisk's meeting with Sans was even more ominous. Frisk was about to cross the bridge with Papyrus's uselessly wide bars when the familiar snap of a twig made Frisk pause expectantly.

"…human. you should know better than this. don't you know how to greet a pal? turn around and shake my hand." Sans instructed, his voice cold.

Frisk stiffened, slowly turning around. Sans's introduction was different. Frisk remembered wanting to ask Sans last time, and now the nagging suspicion was screaming evidence jabbing a finger at the figure standing in front of Frisk.

Sans knew something about RESET. Frisk wasn't sure how or why, but Sans… Sans must know that this wasn't the first time this had happened. Did he know what was going on? Or could he just remember RESETS like Flowey?

…then wouldn't that mean Flowey was bluffing? Surely if Sans remembered, then Flowey must as well. After all, Sans didn't seem like the type to pull a RESET when he and his brother were so happy…

Frisk reached out tentatively, grasping his hand in Sans's. They let out a nervous laugh at the whoopee cushion's noise, but as they looked up into San's eyes, Frisk realized with a feeling of shock Sans's pupils had vanished and only black sockets seemed to glare down at them. Their laugh died in their throat and they gazed up at the taller figure warily.

"…" Sans was silent for a moment, then grinned really widely. Too widely. "so you're a human, huh? that's hilarious. you should really meet my brother…"

Frisk opened their mouth. "Sans…" but they couldn't continue. Something about Sans was making Frisk feel… afraid. They didn't like it. Whatever Sans knew, maybe Frisk would try and fix whatever was going on by themselves first. Until then, they could only act like nothing was wrong.

.

Several days later, with the Underground once again cleared and Frisk having gone to sleep nestled against Toriel's side as they slept, Frisk opened their eyes and saw a carpet of bright, golden flowers.

Again.

It happened _again._

"…I don't understand…What am I doing wrong?" Frisk whispered, lying listlessly on the floor of the cave as they examined the golden flowers that seemed to taunt them. Frisk slowly closed their eyes. They didn't feel like doing this anymore. Three times running through this was were they started feeling tired and the fourth was where they just wanted to rest. They hadn't even had one day before RESET kicked in this time. They had literally just arrived with Toriel to their new home and gone to sleep, and…

"…I have to keep going, don't I?" Frisk whispered to themselves, pushing themselves up with effort. They forced a smile on their face and tilted their head up forcing themselves to keep looking forwards. "That's right. I have to keep going…"

And with this, they shook the flower petals from their hair and walked back into the darkness.

.

"kid… you _really_ shouldn't have come here, y'know?" Sans stated as he released Frisk's hand. "i don't know what you're looking for here in the underground, but you're not going to find it. you should've been happy with the overworld, yeah? you must not have been the brightest bulb of the bunch if you thought being in a place with less light is better."

Frisk shivered, longingly looking at Sans's coat. They remembered the first time Sans had found them that they had gotten so cold solving Papyrus's puzzles, Sans had lent them his coat until they got to the village. It had been so… warm. There had been Frisk, scared and determined to get out of the hole they had fallen into… literally and mentally… and Sans had offered them a glimmer of warmth they weren't sure they would find after they left Toriel.

…Sans wouldn't let them borrow the coat now, though. Frisk was sure Sans knew something that made him grow warier of Frisk each time they met. But other than saying a little bit more each time they met, Sans acted the exact same… what was he playing at?

"Sans…" Frisk finally asked, standing in the cold and wrapping their arms around themselves. "…you remember me… don't you."

"…yeah."

"I-"

"kid. maybe you have your own reasons. maybe you're too scared of growing up to let go. but here's some advice: you're going to have to face reality sooner or later, whether you like it or not. heh, and this is me that's saying this, so i hope you get the gravity of what i'm talking about here."

Frisk opened their mouth, eyes widening. "No, Sans, it's not what you think, it's not-"

"save it, kid. i won't hold it against you for now. but until this farce is over, let's pretend this is our first time together and enjoy ourselves, okay? when you have done whatever it is you need to, then I'll talk to you on the surface." The skeleton flashed Frisk a small grin, then turned and brushed past Frisk as he walked towards where Papyrus was. "so as I was saying, my brother. he's a human hunting fanatic…"

"Sans!" Frisk yelled, but the skeleton didn't listen to them. So Frisk had no choice but to follow, trying to follow Sans's lead and force a smile on their face again as they pretended nothing was wrong.

Somehow, this time the smile was starting to feel quite fake.

Frisk felt their headache come back as they listened to the two brother's squabble and wondered if they were messing up terribly without even realizing it.

.

But now something was different. Different in a way that frisk couldn't help but falter, tripping over their own steps as they tried to act like nothing had changed.

"IS SOMETHING WRONG, HUMAN?" Papyrus asked curiously. "YOU SEEM UPSET WHENEVER MY BROTHER IS AROUND." The tall skeleton frowned at Frisk, and then brightened up as understanding darted across his face. "DID YOU TWO FIGHT? I CAN MAKE SOME SPAGHETTI FOR YOU TO GIVE HIM AS AN APOLOGY, HUMAN. THERE'S NO WAY HE CAN STAY MAD AT YOU IF YOU GIVE HIM MY SPAGHETTI!"

Frisk just smiled, looking up at the skeleton. "Fight? Of course not Papyrus, Sans and I are friends! Why would we fight?"  
"YOU JUST STARE AFTER HIM ALL THE TIME AND THE TWO OF YOU HAVEN'T SEEMED TO TALK THAT MUCH."  
"..oh. Is it that obvious?" Frisk asked uncertainly.

"YES, BUT I'VE KNOWN SANS FOR A LONG TIME AND YOU AND I ARE GREAT FRIENDS SO OF COURSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD NOTICE." Papyrus bragged. He grinned, leaned down and gently tousled Frisk's hair. "COME, HUMAN, LET'S GO TALK TO SANS. I'M SURE IT'LL BE OKAY. AFTER ALL, I GUARANTEE IT!"

"…thanks Papyrus. You're a great friend." Frisk smiled at them, and this time it was genuine one.

"EXCELLENT. NOW, AFTER YOU MAKE UP WITH MY BROTHER, I HAVE ANOTHER FRIEND I THINK YOU'LL REALLY LIKE! HER NAME IS UNDYNE…"

Frisk couldn't tell him that they and Sans had been getting along as well as they could. It just felt like a void was opening up between them as every time they tried to breach the SAVE and RESET topic, Sans would either change the subject or vanish. Frisk had gotten the message though. Somehow they had upset Sans, and they guessed all the could do was try and forget Sans knew anything at all for now and keep trying to work out what was going on. Sans had promised they would talk once they were overground again, after all.

But Frisk had started realizing something about the RESETS. Each RESET made everyone go back to as they were… except Frisk couldn't remain static like everyone else. They couldn't change what they experienced, after all. Frisk would be different each time, each interaction, and Frisk started worrying it wouldn't be a problem of how to escape the time loop, but of how much of Frisk was the same when this was all over.

.

"Frisk… it's fine. Someone has to stay and tend to the flowers, after all. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"….yeah, I do." Frisk whispered, but they didn't move, instead remaining where they were. "Asriel… I have something to ask you. Something that you might not…. like."

"…? What is it, Frisk?" Asriel asked, confusion flitting across his face as he stood and turned towards the human.

Frisk hesitated again, but they had to ask. "Asriel… do you still have Flowey's powers? Can you still RESET?"

"I-I… no. I don't, Frisk… why?" Asriel asked, surprised. "Only the person with the most DETERMINATION keeps the power, you know? You can still RESET so no one else can do it now, right?"

Frisk stiffened. If Asriel didn't have it, if Sans didn't have it, if Frisk didn't have it… because they didn't have it. Frisk had tried, really tried, but they couldn't go back OR frowards now. Frisk was unsure of what would happen if they died, but for now, they tried their best to not think about it. The answer to this entire mess was that someone else was RESETTING. Someone that Frisk was unaware of.

"…Thanks, Asriel. That helped… Take care of yourself." Frisk whispered, and as Asriel smiled sadly and waved, Frisk turned and started the trek back to where everyone was waiting for them.

.

"Sans, we need to talk… please."

"what is it now, kid? can't it wait? paps just discovered a spaghetti restaurant and is going wild. it's hilarious."

"SANS, WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO? I NEED YOU TO HELP ME DECIDE IF I SHOULD TRY THIS LASAGNA OR NOT AS I'M NOT SURE IF IT QUALIFIES AS SPAGHETTI."

"…i don't think it does, paps. i'm talking to the kid."

"OH! HELLO HUMAN, HOW ARE YOU! ARE YOU AND SANS GETTING ALONG WELL? WHEN DID YOU EXCHANGE PHONE NUMBERS? YOU SHOULD COME EAT SPAGHETTI WITH US."  
"Hello, Papyrus. Of course I'll come, but some other time okay? Um, do you mind if I just talk to Sans for now? It's about… the thing I was worried about before…"

"OH! WHY YES, OF COURSE! SANS, TAKE THE PHONE BACK. I JUST SAW SOMEONE GET A DISH THAT LOOKS AWESOME, I NEED TO GO FIND OUT WHAT IT WAS."

"okay kid, you've got my attention, what is it?"  
"Sans, please, I need to ask your advice about using RESET… you know something right? I need to know if-"

"…not now kid, i'm busy enjoying the surface for the first time with paps…isn't that right? i'm sure you know what needs to be done, or not done, after all. i'll come over tomorrow to talk to you. this can't be done over the phone."

_click._

Frisk stared blankly at the phone for a moment, frustrated. They sat in their bedroom, wondering if it was worth it to try and not fall asleep. They weren't sure what was going on, but it seemed that whenever they fell asleep the day after they got out of the Underground the RESET happened after the first RESET. It wasn't that much time, and Frisk wondered if they should enjoy it if they could. Maybe they just shouldn't sleep and try to stay up as long as possible… it was just frustrating Sans just had to pick a time to talk to them that would never come.

"If only Sans would listen to me," they whispered, feeling older than they actually were and more tired then they would have previously believed to ever be.

Eventually, they got up and went to go read about snails with Toriel, once again falling asleep curled up next to their mother.

.

The next time Frisk woke up, they sat up, shook golden flowers out of their hair, and set off determined to make Sans talk to them for real this time...


	3. Chapter Three

Frisk hurried through the snow, pausing for a moment to look up at the roof of the mountain. "I wonder how snow gets down here, anyways…" They breathed as they shivered and turned back to the path. They heard rustling behind them, and a shadow flitted between trees as they were followed. This time, however, Frisk didn't keep walking. Instead they stopped, turning back to wait.

"Sans, come out. We need to talk."

"…"

"Sans. You can't keep ignoring me. How many times are we going to meet like this until you give me a chance to explain?" Frisk pleaded. But nothing answered their call, and finally Frisk sighed. "Sans… I'm not the one RESETTING. I swear, Sans, please, it's someone else! Someone other than me and Flowey and you…Please, you have to help me, Sans... you're the only one that I can turn to…"

"…you think I'd believe that, kid?" Sans finally answered, and Frisk saw a flash of blue behind the trees. Suddenly Sans's voice came from behind them, and they spun around only to find no one there but a trace of blue magic lingered in the air for a moment. "i wasn't born yesterday. why does the RESET always end up… right when you arrived in the underground, then? kid. buddy. you're fooling nobody here. there's no one else here that can RESET, anyways…"

"except for you and the flower."

Frisk whirled back around, finally spotting Sans casually leaning against a tree with his hands stuffed into his pockets. "Why would you think I'd be lying?" Frisk asked, and to their shame, their voice cracked and they had to bite their lip before tears spilled from their eyes. "I wouldn't do that, Sans. You know me better than anyone else here. I've been completing everything the exact same way every time it all RESETS for what? A joke? Amusement? You c-can't… you can't honestly think that, Sans."

"…sorry kid." Sans finally said wryly, grinning at Frisk, his eyes studying Frisk for a moment. "i guess i do believe that. it's almost like the one thing you're here to do is convince me of something. you keep pleading for me to listen, and i have to hand it to ya, you really don't want it to be on my terms. if it was on my terms, you would've waited one day more to RESET, right? so. what do you want, kid?"

"No… Sans, _please._ "

"…welp. everyone has something to hide, kid. i guess you do too. i won't hold it against you for now. but continue this for too long, and you might try my patience a bit. but that's okay, right kid? it's all for the laughs and giggles. now, let's just get this round over with. i'm tired and want to go get some sleep." Sans murmured, pushing himself back onto his feet and walking past Frisk. His footsteps crunched in the snow, and Sans glanced back at Frisk before stepping deliberately on a branch to make it snap in half as loud as possible.

Frisk merely watched them go. They were getting used to watching Sans's back as he walked away and left them all alone, after all.

.

Eventually, Frisk didn't want to go on anymore. They were tired, after all. Each smile felt fake, and they had started not to care what everyone thought of them. Was it really worth this?

Frisk could only hope it was as they pushed themselves back to their feet and kept going.

.

"We're not going to just be friends, human… we're going to be BESTIES… h-hey! What's wrong? What did I do?"

Frisk stiffened immediately, surprised Undyne had seen through them so easily despite their now-constant vigilance. Frisk sniffed, and then smiled wobbly up at Undyne, wiping at bleary eyes. "S-sorry, I just… I've been lonely for a while…I've felt really alone and I'm just…"

"Well you're in luck, human. Because I don't let my BESTIES feel sad."

"…thanks, Undyne."

Undyne gave Frisk a wide-toothed grin, then pulled out a spear. "So… want to practice fighting?"

Frisk giggled softly so Undyne would think they felt better, and nodded, already expectant of what would come next. They would really have to be more careful with showing their emotions…

.

"you get it right? buddy. without that promise, you'd **be dead where you stand.** " Sans said, the atmosphere plunging due to the chilling implications.

Frisk, however, was unimpressed. "You mean without the power of RESET." They muttered bitterly. This was the eleventh time Sans had told them this, and they were tired of the skeleton's evasion and silence treatment towards anything new they tried.

This time, Sans merely gave them a long, calculating glance before shrugging and going back to his normal dialogue. Frisk wondered if he ever got tired of this farce. "hey, lighten up, bucko! i'm just joking with you! besides… haven't i done a great job protecting you? i mean, look at you. you haven't died a single time…. right?" And Sans turned a grin at Frisk that made them blanch at the icy gaze of their… friend? Acquaintance? Frisk didn't know anymore.

"…heh. well, i got to go. good luck, kid."

And once again, Frisk watched the skeleton leave them.

.

It was the twenty-third time they had woken up in the bed of golden flowers.

And yet they had made no progress, changed nothing, and Sans had continued giving them the same words, over and over, acting like nothing was different, almost as if to prove a point that Frisk understood perfectly.

Sans wasn't going to listen to them again.

Maybe this was why Sans acted like nothing bothered him anymore. Why he was always so aloof and careful not to overly involve himself. How long had he kept track of RESETS? Frisk didn't ask. Even if they did, Sans… wouldn't answer. Frisk was left all alone with their thoughts, laughing at the same jokes over and over again until they realized Sans himself didn't think they were funny. It was all part of an act. One that wouldn't change until the RESETS stopped.

Frisk bleakly wondered if they would stop sometime soon. Maybe they were doing something wrong, or maybe there was no end. Maybe they should just give up. But.. something told Frisk that giving up and accepting this would be even worse than having a goal and striving to reach it, even if it was impossible.

So Frisk kept moving forwards.

.

"You know, I don't care about destroying this world anymore." Asriel said with a shrug as meteors crashed down around Frisk. They stepped back, staring warily up at Asriel with a mix of pity and understanding. "After I defeat you, and gain control over this timeline, I just want to RESET everything. All your progress, everyone's memories… I'll bring them all back to zero… then we can do it all over again. And do you know what the best part of all of it is? You'll do it!"

Frisk dove away from Asriel's attacks, and they shivered at Asriel's ominous words. "Asriel, stop. You don't really want to fight me!" They tried. How many times had they seen this before? Thirty times? It hadn't even been that long since RESET had started happening and already, Frisk was starting to lose count.

Asriel merely laughed at Frisk's attempts, eyes glittering with malice. "Oh, but I do, Chara! You see, you'll lose to me each time… again… and again…"

Frisk scrambled back as meteors slammed down, and they felt their HEALTH start to sap away. They wondered bleakly if they failed and died here if this cycle would be broken. Maybe it'd be worth it. Maybe at least Sans would get out of this time loop. Maybe…

"And again! Because you want a "happy ending." Because you "love your friends." Because you "never give up." Isn't that delicious? Your DETERMINATION, the power that let you get this far, will be your downfall." Asriel laughed, and finally Frisk couldn't stay silent any longer. They had heard this speech over and over again and they were so tired they just… They couldn't pretend this time.

"How can you be so sure I'll keep going, Asriel!?" They yelled back. "How do you know I won't grow tired of this fight never ending? What if there is no end…?" They glared up at Asriel, who seemed surprised at Frisk's outburst. "…I'm not as strong as everyone thinks I am…" Frisk whispered, but despite that, they were glad at least someone believed in their DETERMINATION. Frisk wasn't sure they believed in themselves anymore, after all, no matter how Papyrus encouraged them or how everyone else backed them up each time. Because going through this battle over and over felt so fake now, and that was the worst part of it all, wasn't it? It became harder and harder to care for friends when it felt like they were just characters in a play or something, always rehearsing the same lines…

But maybe Asriel was right. Frisk was ok. All of Frisk's friends were worth this, and Frisk wouldn't… couldn't give up… not if there was even a glimmer of hope at the end of each battle.

Frisk raised their head and kept moving, kept calling out, kept reaching for their friends. They would SAVE everyone. Even Sans, with or without his help in the matter.

Asriel hissed in anger, then fear, as he felt his grip on all of the souls started to loosen. "Do you know why I'm doing this? Why I fight to keep you around? I'm doing this because you're special to me!" He finally bit out, even as Frisk smiled at him sadly and held out a hand to offer to him.

He shook his head, backing up a step. "Because you're the only one who's fun to play with anymore. … no. That's not just it. I'm doing this because I care about you. I care about you more than anybody else."

"...I know," Frisk said sadly, and they slowly looked up at him. "But RESETTING over and over… so I never remember you, so no one remembers you… is that really what you want, Asriel? Is that really fun for you?"

Asriel shook his head, desperate as he struggled to hold onto his power. "It is because I can start it over and over again, Chara… I won't be alone this way. Even if you don't remember me, you'll still be here. I won't be left alone. I'm not ready for this to end. I'm not ready to say goodbye to someone like you again. So please… just stop doing this and just let me win." Asriel finally tore himself away from Frisk's offered hand, unleashing all of his power at once. Frisk yanked their arms up in front of their face, bracing themselves as pain shot up and down their body. It never got easier to withstand this, but they knew that it would be all right. Somehow.

"…Stop it." Asriel finally demanded, even as Frisk felt themselves start to grow weak. But Frisk kept standing, and this time they realized they understood Asriel perhaps even better than they understood themselves.

"STOP IT AND JUST LET ME WIN!" Asriel yelled attacking Frisk with every amount of power possible.

But Frisk held on.

Eventually Asriel stopped, and he looked at Frisk, lost. He finally broke down, shivering miserably as he fell to his knees. "Chara… I'm so alone, you know? And… I'm so afraid. Chara… I… I'm so sorry," he cried, and this time, Frisk wasn't afraid to step up to Asriel, still so large in their upgraded form, wrap their arms around him and whisper in his ear.

"It's okay, Asriel… even when I win, you'll get your wish. You and I won't be saying goodbye just yet…" And then they stepped back and sadly smiled and comforted Asriel as the barrier was, once again, shattered.

.

"…? WHERE'S THE DRAMA IF YOU KEEP GETTING EVERYTHING RIGHT," Mettaton complained, sounding annoyed with its robotic voice. "EVEN THE NEAR IMPOSSIBLE ONES. I NEED DRAMA, FEAR, ANGST FOR THIS SHOW TO BE A SUCCESS, DARLING! WHICH… YOU AREN'T GIVING ME."

"Ah. Sorry, I'll get one wrong, then," Frisk volunteered, zoning back into reality. They had been distracted, thinking back on the happy future Mettaton would one day have with Napstablook and the others.

Frisk was now uncertain if that day would ever come, though. Somehow, the thought of it not coming just made them feel more tired than sad now…

.

Frisk and the Monster Kid stood silently in the rain, the rain dripping off of the umbrella as Frisk gazed out at the castle. There was a comfortable silence, and Frisk was grateful for the temporary reprieve.

"…why do you idolize Undyne so much?" Frisk finally asked, after the silence had lapsed for several minutes.

The Monster Kid turned, and grinned up at Frisk. "That's obvious, duh!" He grinned, turning back to look out over the castle. "She always does her best to help others and is super cool while doing it!"

"But what if she fails?" Frisk persisted, curious.

Monster Kid just hummed to himself, cheerfully thinking about it. "Heroes never fail!" He finally declared. "They always get right back up if they lose a fight, so they never fail, of course!"

"…I see."

 _I hope that I remain the "hero" type then…_ Frisk thought silently, gazing up at the fake stars. _I hope that I always stand up more than I fall…_

.

"…haha." Frisk said softly, cracking a wry smile at the whoopee cushion as they fished it out from under them and tossed it at Sans. Sans just grinned and silently handed Frisk the ketchup bottle, a dare in his eyes.

Without hesitating, Frisk turned it upside down and drenched their hamburger in the red sauce before reaching for Sans's food and eating that one instead.

There were no extra words passed between the two anymore as they mechanically carried out the same routine.

.

_Wake up...you need to… listen to me… Frisk…! Don't… give up…_

Frisk blinked their eyes open, turning their head to the side as they rested for a moment, panting as they regained their breath. Sixty times. They had done this sixty times. They were sure of it. Their DETERMINATION was sapped, and they were nearly at a breaking point. This time, the RESET had been… different. Turning wide eyes down to their stomach, Frisk nervously felt for the wound that had killed them.

Because they had messed up. They had died.

And it didn't end the cycle. Instead, it just sent Frisk right back to the start. There were no SAVE points, no QUIT options. There was just RESET, nothing else. And Frisk couldn't even control that anymore. Whether they liked it or not, Frisk was going to wake up, surrounded by the golden flowers…

But Frisk was still ok. They could still keep going.

.

Until finally, on their seventy-second RESET, Frisk by accident gained their first LOVE level.

And everything they had worked so hard for started to crumble down from there.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Thanks for the comments, everyone! I'm glad you like my story so far~))

The main question here was _why._

Why had the kid gone through the same thing over and over… and do the exact same thing each round? Wasn't that boring? What was the point?

Sans didn't understand.

What was Frisk doing with all of these RESETS? Were they just scared of growing up, like Sans's initial suspicions?

Or was it something… more?

This pattern of thoughts led to opening a whole new can of worms, though. Because… what if the kid was telling the truth? What if the kid was the same as himself?

If so, then Sans had done something unspeakably cruel to them.

Sans, scratched his head for a moment, considering his options. He didn't really care about what happened so much. He had learned to just… let this kind of thing go after a while. Trying to remember each timeline, each RESET… it started to all mix together and really hurt his head. Just passively watching the storm pass was much better than braving the tempest.

But the kid didn't have the same attitude. And Sans knew better than anyone else how time travel could mess with someone's head… the photos of RESETS that never happened lying scattered in his lab were a testament to that.

"…welp. guess i'm going to have to go check on the kid, then," Sans decided. The kid should be about done with Papyrus's puzzles by now, and Sans had only taken his eyes off of them for a moment, anyways. Just long enough to slip off and check on Toriel's door to see if she was there this time. It was a hope in vain, as after she had begged him to look after the next human that passed through, Sans had never seen her again until the kid's fight with Asgore.

It didn't hurt to check, though.

Sans's feet crunched through the snow, and he wondered how much longer he would remain in these few days. Who knew, it was a hassle to worry about it anyways. Sans would just accept this was the way things were, as his hands were pretty tied when it came to RESETS. Not unless he wanted to go beg _him_ to fix it, and that in itself was never going to happen.

Sans was somewhat surprised to see the kid sitting in the snow up ahead. Sans wouldn't have commented on it, but warning bells were ringing inside of his head. "…? kid?" Sans questioned, confused. "what's taking you so long? The puzzles are pretty short, what-"

"…I didn't mean it…" The human whispered, staring listlessly down at their hands. "I… I…"

Sans circled around them, squatting down to reach over and flick the snow off of their shoulder. He studied them, wondering if he should get involved. No, he had decided to talk to them this time, might as well start here. They were different, after all. Not like the others.

Frisk wasn't a killer.

And then Sans's eyes landed on the small pile of snow that was in between him and the kid. Snow that was a shade darker than it should have been, and the wind was slowly blowing it away. But there was no mistaking that ashy color…

Sans's gaze slowly dropped down to his hand, where he had brushed the 'snow' off of the human's shoulder. The dust residue on his gloves told Sans everything he needed to know.

"…oh. …i see. so that's how it is." Sans said off handedly, wiping the hand into snow as his throat tightened and he tried not to let the storm of emotions inside show. _it doesn't matter,_ he told himself. _the kid'll just RESET anyways, this monster will be fine, i'm sure they'll be okay…_

Sans took a deep breath, then stood up, towering down over the human. "who was this?" he asked quietly, his pupil's dimming as he suppressed anything but cold indifference from his voice.

The human merely cowered away, acting like his words had slapped them. "I… I… Sans, I didn't think… I was just lost in thought and it was a reaction I didn't mean anything by this, I swear, Sans, please… w-wait where… don't leave me…" They stammered, but Sans had already turned away, stepping back into the shadows.

"too bad, kid. and here i thought you… welp. nevermind, it doesn't matter now. i'm surprised it took you this long to do this, though. i mean, why waste all that time stalling what you wanted to try in the first place?" Sans said offhandedly. "…well. none of my business. see you around… and congrats on your first **Level of Violence**."

"…you humans really are all the same."

And with that, Sans warped away, not caring to listen to whatever excuses Frisk… the human had. To think that he almost allowed himself to be dragged back into this sick game again.

.

Numb.

Frisk was numb.

They stared blankly at the ground in front of them, head bowed and shoulders slumped. The worst part of all of this was, Frisk only had a faint inkling of which monster they had hurt.

No, scratch that. Frisk had _killed_ someone, this wasn't some paper cut injury that could be forgotten so easily.

However, as they sat in the snow listlessly staring off into space, Frisk just felt empty. Shouldn't they feel something… more? They felt numb, unable to feel the cold snow falling around them or of any internal guilt that Frisk was sure they should have.

No, the only thing Frisk was distinctly aware of was the gritty texture of dust on their hands.

It had been an accident, of course. Frisk had started zoning out at random moments, especially when walking along the trail by themselves. There wasn't any danger, Frisk had thought. They knew the entire area like the back of their hand by now, after all.

But a monster had come up behind them, wanting something. Maybe it was affection. Maybe it was appreciation at a joke, or a compliment from the small human wandering around. Something small and harmless that Frisk was delighted to share.

But… Frisk still hadn't been paying attention to their surroundings. So when the monster, upset at being ignored, had attacked, Frisk had lashed out in surprise, forgetting they were wearing the tough glove.

…that one hit was all it had taken.

Frisk had recoiled in shock, had cried out and fallen as they scrambled away from the pile of dust sitting in the snow. The only time prior to this Frisk had seen a monster die was Asgore's death, but that hadn't been Frisk's _fault._ Frisk had waited, expecting to feel guilt and horror at the act they had done, but… they just felt _tired._ Did it really matter if Frisk had slipped up just this once? No one had to know, it would just RESET again and everything would be fine-

"…kid?" And instantly Frisk felt all of the guilt and horror wash over them because Sans _wouldn't_ forget and it wasn't Frisk's fault and now Sans might never listen to Frisk even more so than he already ignored them and Frisk wasn't sure what to _do_ because Frisk wasn't a killer and _oh god please Sans don't look at me like that! I didn't mean to! I'll fix it just… just don't…_

Sans left them there, crouched in the cold, icy chills starting to sneak back into Frisk's conscience. Like a switch was flipped, Frisk felt their stomach lock up, their throat grow tight, and they tried to scramble to their feet and rush over the trees to throw up.

They didn't get that far, though.

"… _hic…hic…"_ Frisk rubbed at their eyes, averting their gaze from the nearly vanished pile of dust. They had sat in the snow so long that the snow had soaked their clothes, and threw up all of the food Toriel had given them. They were wet and miserable and hungry and afraid of themselves. How could they have messed up so badly? It shouldn't matter if everything RESET… life was precious! What if this time was different and things _didn't_ RESET? Frisk would be a murderer. That monster would never get to see the sun.

Frisk shivered again, clutching their stomach in pain and suddenly feeling dizzy. They slipped several times, skinning their hands and looking down at their hands as blood and dust contrasted each other in an accusation.

Tired and sick, Frisk called out for help…

…but nobody came.

.

Eventually, Papyrus found Frisk.

The skeleton had waited impatiently for the human to hurry up and return so they could hang out already, but the human had instead asked to play with some of Papyrus's puzzles and have some alone time. This was, of course, completely unsurprising, as Papyrus's puzzles were extremely entertaining and challenging, but after three hours had passed, Papyrus felt… worried.

"…is something wrong?" The flower next to the skeleton crooned, and Papyrus glanced down.

"I AM CONCERNED OVER A FRIEND OF MINE," Papyrus informed him. "THEY HAVEN'T COME BACK FOR HOURS, AND I'M SURE THEY'RE HUNGRY BY NOW."

"You're such a caring friend!" The flower chirped. "Maybe you should go check on them, then?"

"EXCELLENT IDEA, FLOWEY." Papyrus decided. "NOW I HAVE TO GO COOK SOME SPAGHETTI AND GO FIND THE HU- MY FRIEND."

Flowey merely grinned. "Hee hee hee, no problem. Bye, Papyrus. See you around." The flower vanished back into the ground with a pop, and Papyrus turned and started walking back towards town and towards the snow area. He wished at times that he had his brother's powers to warp, but he also knew how much it took out of Sans to use his powers.

Finally arriving at his destination, Papyrus scanned the surroundings and started wandering around. Finally, Papyrus stopped a passing Snow Drake and inquired about his friend's whereabouts.

"Oh. You're talking about _them_." The monster muttered. "I think I saw them by the ice pond, near the trees."

"THANK YOU!" Papyrus said cheerfully, tossing his red scarf back around his neck. He started to run off, but the monster stopped him.

"Oh, hey…" The monster said, its joking nature temporarily serious. "The kid seemed like a good sort when I met 'em but… there's rumors the kid's done something foul goin' around."

"…? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND." Papyrus questioned. "MY FRIEND WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING BAD."

"Papyrus… I just heard someone saw them kill an Ice Cap. I'd be really careful, Papyrus… you don't know for sure if that human's been telling you the truth this entire time." The Snow Drake gazed at Papyrus sadly, then turned away. "But it's snow of my business, I suppose."

Papyrus stared after the monster for a moment, then turned back around, breaking into a run. Frisk? A killer? Papyrus couldn't imagine the little kid that had flirted with him while smiling and asking to be his friend _hurting_ anyone. Maybe it was just a rumor… most monsters wouldn't trust a human as quickly as the great Papyrus, after all.

Finally, Papyrus spotted the small human huddled underneath one of the trees. "HUMAN! I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" Papyrus shouted, relieved. He ran over, and knelt down, confused to see the human sleeping. "…HUMAN? FRISK, WAKE UP, IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS. SURELY YOU HAVE MISSED ME."

Papyrus shook the small child's shoulder, and then he knelt down and peered into Frisk's face. The child's breath created a mist in the cold air, and the child was so very, very pale. A nice shade for skeletons sure, but Papyrus wasn't sure how humans worked. Maybe this was a bad thing.

Papyrus gently reached out and scooped up Frisk, holding them close. The child was hot to the touch, and was shaking slightly in Papyrus's grip. "FRISK? FRISK, WHAT'S WRONG?" Papyrus asked worriedly, and then the human's eyes opened, unfocused and blank, before finally sliding to Papyrus's face.

"…I'm sorry…" They mumbled, and then the human's eyes slid shut again and Papyrus shook them nervously.

"HEY! W-WAIT! DON'T TAKE A NAP NOW HUMAN, I TOLD SANS HE WAS A BAD INFLUENCE. H-HEY, FRISK? STAY WITH ME, HUMAN! HOLD ON, I… I'LL TAKE YOU BACK TO MY HOUSE! YOU'LL BE FINE!"

"….FRISK?"

But the human child slept on...


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually have 18 chapters of this written already, so guess who gets speedy updates as I bring this up to speed?  
> Anyways, I'm glad everyone likes it! Whether you get happy when reading this story or upset with me, haha.

"…hey kid." A voice greeted them as Frisk slowly pried open their eyes, sneezing once before sitting up and groaning as their body throbbed all over. Sans was sitting next to them, reading a joke book and uninterestingly flipping the page. "you really scared papyrus, y'know. i didn't expect you to stay out in the cold like that."

"…" Frisk didn't say anything, turning away from Sans and sniffing as they tried to stand before swaying as they struggled to gain their balance. Aware they were about to fall over, Sans's hand darted out and grabbed their arm, yanking them back down onto the sofa.

Sans closed his right eye and examined them for a moment. "…something wrong, kiddo? you look like you've seen a ghost **.** or maybe you succeeded in catching your death out in the cold?"

Frisk opened their mouth, guilt and a headache making their vision swim. "Sans… I-I…"

"IS THE HUMAN AWAKE?" Papyrus rushed out of the kitchen, a chef hat perched on his head and an apron wrapped over his armor. "HUMAN! I MADE THIS FOR YOU TO EAT AND FEEL BETTER! ALPHYS TOLD ME THAT HUMANS NEEDED TO BE KEPT WARM AND COMFORTABLE WHEN PALE SO I WENT AND GOT SOME OF HER RAMEN. IT'S NOT SPAGHETTI, BUT IT LOOKED SIMILAR ENOUGH THAT I'M SURE IT'S COOKED THE SAME WAY."

"…bro. how long… did you cook that for?" Sans asked warily, finally letting go of Frisk's arm and turning his attention elsewhere, much to Frisk's relief.

Papyrus beamed, proudly sticking his chest out and pointing at himself with his thumb. "APPROXIMATELY THIRTY MINUTES."

"paps, that's is one hundred percent _not_ how long you're supposed to cook ramen for. i thought you took the human here to make them better, not worse." Sans commented dryly, and Papyrus frowned down at his older brother.

"WELL IF YOU KNOW HOW TO COOK SO WELL, WHY DON'T _YOU_ DO IT?"

"…uh… you just look super cool cooking so it's best if you do it anyways?" Sans offered, which Papyrus seemed to accept as a peace offering.

"HMMM. YES, WELL, I GUESS YOU CAN'T HELP THAT PART."

"…C-can I… just have some water?" Frisk asked hoarsely, their head throbbing.

"AH. WHY, YES OF COURSE, ONE SECOND, HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted, racing off towards the kitchen. Frisk groaned, grasping their head with their hands.

"How long was I out of it?" They asked quietly, and Sans turned his gaze back to them.

"about eight hours. you've been sick all night." The two sat in uncomfortable silence, neither saying anything as clattering sounds could be heard from the kitchen. Finally, Frisk shifted, pulling the three blankets Papyrus had dumped on top of them closer to their body.

"Sans… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." They whispered, and Sans merely cocked his head at them and smiled.

"i'm not sure of why you're apologizing to me, buddy. shouldn't you apologize to the ice cap? y'know, after you RESET?"

"…I…I…"

"well, i've seen worse before you, so don't sweat it, i guess. maybe i just expected more of you? the other humans never managed to achieve everything you did, after all, even though some of them could RESET as well." Sans said, resting his chin on his hand.

Frisk swallowed, blinking in surprise at Sans. "The other six humans were like me?" They asked quietly, and Sans laughed. It wasn't a happy sound.

"no. not exactly. see, kid, tori never asked me to watch ever anyone before. i didn't know her back then, after all. some of the humans _were_ nice though, y'know? and some… some weren't. i think all of them were just frightened kids at first, confused and alone, and that was fine… until some of them realized what SAVING and RESET was. some kids didn't understand monsters didn't actually want to hurt them, and fought their way through. some were kind and caring… but in the end, they were too weak and their DETERMINATION only lasted so long."

Frisk watched Sans, and understanding flooded through them. "Sans… how long have you been able to remember RESETS?"

Sans merely shrugged, reaching over to the counter to pick up his joke book again. "a long time. too long. so, anyways, before paps comes back with whatever dish he's going to serve you, i'm going to let you get this one thing down straight, buddy: none of the humans that fell down here, not one, have had a happy ending. every single one died down here to have their SOUL taken and given to asgore. and some… some even made it out of the underworld before RESETTING and coming back out of boredom. but once their DETERMINATION failed them… well. you get the idea, right?"

"…yeah." Frisk whispered, hunching over as they coughed miserably, their throat burning. "Listen, Sans… I know you don't believe me when I say that I'm not the one doing this. I… I know how I look to you. But I'm trying my best, Sans. Please believe that, at least…"

Sans studied them for a moment before sighing. "y'know kid… i don't actually remember each RESET as clearly as you do. not anymore." He stood up, tucking the book under one arm and staring down at Frisk. "there are so many things that i do know and so many that i don't. i like to just accept what i know for sure as facts and treat everything else as a variable 'till the end. and you, kid… you're a variable. a really big one. if you wanted, you could destroy the underground. and if that time ever comes, i have to be prepared for it."

Sans grinned at Frisk, before chuckling and starting up the stairs towards his room. "well. enjoy papyrus's dish. call it my revenge… best served hot, in this case."

By what Sans meant by this, Frisk discovered, was on top of the grossly overcooked ramen breaking apart as soon as Frisk's spoon went near them, Sans had told Papyrus that an entire bottle of hot sauce was an essential ingredient to warming a cold human being back up.

.

"ARE YOU SURE YOU CAN GO ON BY YOURSELF FROM HERE?" Papyrus asked nervously, studying Frisk's face. The distant sound of a waterfall echoed throughout the cave, and Frisk nodded, wiping at their nose with their sleeve.

"I'll be fine, Papyrus." They said softly, and Papyrus squinted at them in concern. "WELL, YOU HAVE MY CELLPHONE NUMBER, SO CALL ME THE SECOND YOU FEEL SICK AGAIN, OK? I'LL ASK MY FRIEND UNDYNE TO COME CHECK ON YOU, SHE'S SUPER COOL, EVEN IF SHE'S NOT AS COOL AS ME, AND I THINK SHE'LL GET ALONG WITH YOU GREAT."

Frisk nodded, and then started walking into the darkness of the cave, leaving Papyrus worriedly watching them for a moment before he hesitatingly called out to them again.

"H-HEY, HUMAN? WAIT ONE SECOND, I WANTED TO ASK YOU, UM, AS A FRIEND, WHY YOU WERE OUT IN THE COLD LIKE THAT YESTERDAY? YOU REALLY SCARED ME, AND I… I HEARD THAT THERE WAS A REASON YOU WERE SITTING OUT IN THE COLD."

"…Did Sans tell you…?"

"WHAT? NO, MY BROTHER DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT YOU. DID YOU TALK TO HIM BEFORE GOING OUT…?"

Frisk turned, and studied the ground in front of them. "Yeah, I guess so. Sans… he… ermmm." Frisk was at a loss, unsure of what to tell Papyrus. They didn't want Papyrus, the one person who was so unconditionally kind to them, to find out what they had done, nor did they feel like ratting out Sans to his brother. That wouldn't help anything.

"…We just passed by each other when I went out. Nothing more." Frisk finally said, and Papyrus's watchful gaze shifted to confusion, and he scratched his head.

"OH. HUH. I THOUGHT YOU- WELL, NEVERMIND. I'LL SEE YOU AROUND, HUMAN!"

And Frisk darted off into the darkness, leaving Papyrus to his thoughts.

.

Everything was changing. It was like the dust had left a permanent mark on Frisk.

Everyone seemed to know what they did.

No one _said_ anything about it, though, other than Sans. But monsters that were normally friendly cowered at Frisk's touch, and Frisk could feel eyes on them at all times as they wandered around Waterfall Caves. What really hurt, however, was the one person who _did_ mention it. Who picked it up and threw it back into Frisk's face in a way that was the opposite of Sans's cold indifference but still stung just as much.

It was burning rage.

"You think I'd let a murderer pass through here?!" Undyne hisses, eye slitted as she towered over Frisk. "Alphys told me humans were kind, and brave, and noble. But you? You just killed a defenseless monster for no reason! Don't think everyone doesn't know what you did, you disgusting trash. Acting like you're made of sunlight and hugs and trying to make friends with everyone after that stunt. Well, guess what? That will never work. We'll _never_ trust a human."

Frisk stepped back, hesitating as their doubts came back. They opened their mouth to speak, but Undyne viciously cut them off, eye narrowed in rage.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say. So, you disgusting coward, let's see how well you are when _you can't run away_."

She moved with a blur, and Frisk cried out in pain, their SOUL flickering as Undyne viciously laid down the onslaught. It was by a narrow margin that Frisk managed to run again, darting off and grabbing their left arm in pain as they raced towards the Hot Lands. Frisk was _scared_. Undyne had raced after them swearing profanities, pushing herself further than Frisk had ever had to run from her. When she finally collapsed, Frisk expectantly brought her the cup of water with a small smile of offering, but Undyne viciously knocked it out of their hands.

"I. DON'T. WANT. A. MURDURER'S. PITY." She snapped, panting.

Frisk had backed up, wavering between running away from that accusing gaze again and trying to make amends again. But Undyne was… she was their best friend, wasn't she? Frisk brought her cup after cup of water, until finally she accepted it with a grunt around the fifth cup. Saying nothing else, she stood up, turning away immediately and leaving as Frisk gazed after her for a moment, tired.

Even later, however, Undyne refused to go near them.

.

In the quiet corner of the restaurant, two figures sat across from each other, one a human and the other a skeleton in a blue hoodie.

"…"

"…haha. you've been so keen to talk to me lately, kid… why the long face?"

"…Sans?"

"yes?"

"…I… I'll try and go back. I don't want it to end like this, either."

"i'm glad, kid." Sans said softly, and he stood and walked over to Frisk, leaning over a bit to stare into Frisk's eyes. "but, kid? i'm not really too keen on this cruel game of yours. can't you just tell me why you're making me live through this over and over? if this is a joke, the punch line's not very funny."

"I've tried telling you Sans… but you don't believe me."

"oh? kid, you're kinda obvious about your lies. this timeline is centering around _you_."

"…yeah. I know how it looks." Frisk coughed, their throat burning, and they took a deep breath, finally remembering something. "… hey, Sans?"

"what is it?"

"…Does Papyrus also… remember?"

"w-what?" Sans asked, stiffening. "no. he shouldn't."

"…?" Frisk frowned, scratched their head then shrugged. "…weird. I could have sworn…"

"…he called me Frisk earlier."

"what?!" Sans asked, alarm flickering through his gaze. His eye glowed blue for a moment, and he drew back from Frisk, covering his mouth with a hand as he thought and muttered to himself. "no… that shouldn't be… maybe he overheard me…? how did he know, no one but me knows your name at this point…" Sans turned back to Frisk, for once no smirk in sight, and then turned and vanished into the shadows without another word.

Frisk was left all alone to continue forwards.

.

Frisk, alone and tired, stepped quietly into the golden hued room. Their head was throbbing again, and they coughed as they cautiously entered the room, gaze sweeping in search of Sans. Since they had last seen him in the restaurant, he hadn't reappeared before them.

Frisk slowed to a halt, as Sans had slipped out from behind a pillar to stand in front of them, hidden in the shadows and hands stuffed into his pockets. The silence pressed around them, and somehow off in the distance, a bell chimed three times ominously as Frisk and Sans stood across from each other. Sans gave them a long, considering stare, then launched into his usual spiel.

"so you finally made it. your journey is about over… i guess. in a few moments, you'll meet the king. together you will determine the future of the world. that's then. now. you will be judged for your every action. you will be judged for every EXP you've earned." Sans kept his gaze locked on Frisk's face as he talked, and then he sighed, shaking his head. "what's EXP? it's an acronym. it stands for "execution points." a way for quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. when you kill someone, your EXP increases, and when you have enough EXP your LOVE, too, increases. LOVE, too, is an acronym…but you knew that, didn't you, kid? it stands for "level of violence." a way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. _your_ capacity to hurt. the more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. the more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. the more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others. now you understand. it's time for judgment. look inside yourself. have you really done the right thing? and, considering what you've done, what will you do now? take a moment to think about this." Sans watched them for a moment, then smiled at them once more.

"truthfully, it doesn't really matter what you've said. all that matters is that you were honest with yourself. what happens now… we leave up to you. though… kid… you've already experienced all of this before, y'know? while it could have been written off as self-defense…was this really? isn't your responsibility to do the right thing with your special power?"

After a moment longer, Sans sighed and dropped the act. "…i talked to papyrus. he said that he didn't remember where he heard your name… he just knew it." Sans's gaze drilled into Frisk's, and they blinked as they realized the accusation in Sans's gaze.

"What are you getting at, Sans?" They asked quietly.

Sans merely walked up to them, poking their ribs with a bony finger. "i'm saying kid, that if you're messing with the timelines, if you're doing something to papyrus, **you're going to have a bad time**."

Frisk stepped back, and opened their mouth in protest. "What? Sans, I'm not doing anything! If you'd just listen to me, we could work together and fix this!"

"work with you? sorry, kid. not interested." Sans said, stepping back. He looked around and sighed. "it was here when i first realized you also had powers, y'know. i didn't really need a secret password; that was just me checking how many times you could use your SAVE ability. but you definitely had a strong RESET power, huh? …i miss that time you first came through. it was fun." Sans turned, lifting up one hand to give a lazy wave from behind. "…anyways. see you around, kid."

Frisk sighed, and turned and faced forwards again. They just wanted to get this run over with.

.

"Oh? You're left all alone, huh?" Flowey laughed, the giant monstrosity peering down at Frisk as darkness descended around the two and Flowey gained control of the SAVE files. Though, from who Flowey was taking control from, Frisk had no idea…

"Too baaaad~ no one cares enough for you to have come and convince Asgore not to kill you, huh? I had originally planned to wait for that, but there's no point in waiting to kill the old fool if no one would've come for you anyways."

"T-they care…" Frisk said, struggling not to make it sound as uncertain as Frisk felt at the moment. _Don't let him get the best of you, I've heard his lies before, remember that!_

"Heeheehee. Well, then, where are they? Oh, I know! Undyne HATES you, Papyrus is suspicious of you, Alphys wouldn't stand next to you, Sans is blaming and ignoring you, and everyone, everyone, EVERYONE knows what. You. Did." Flowey's computer face flickered, and he beamed down at Frisk in sick, twisted joy. "Don't you get it yet? In this world **it's kill or be killed**. And even when I thought maybe you got the concept, you go right on ahead continuing your pathetic little pacifist act. You really are an idiot."

"…shut up, that's not true." Frisk breathed, backing up. "No… nonono… It's not true, they still care, it's fine, I can go back…"

"Exactly! **You can go back**. So it doesn't matter anymore! You don't have to keep on pretending this gross charade. And if you really think I'm wrong, then go on. Call for help. Maybe your good friend Sans will come running to help you."

Frisk shuddered, taking another step back, and opened their mouth. But they didn't bother calling for help.

No one would've come, anyways.

.

This RESET was different. Normally, after defeating Flowey, Frisk woke up right before killing Asgore. But this time, Frisk had awoken with Asgore's SOUL gently pulsing around them, the human SOULS already long gone, and they had crossed the barrier alone.

Sitting in silence, Frisk had watched the sun for a moment before curling up on the cold ground and going to sleep.

When they woke up, they sat up in the golden flowers, and stared down at their hands. They wondered wearily if the feeling of dust would ever go away.

 **"…** **hey, are you all right?"** A voice asked quietly, and Frisk jumped up, eyes darting around as they looked for the anomaly in the cave.

"Who's there?" Frisk demanded, shocked that something was different.

There was a pause, and the person's voice echoed again, sounding like they were standing right next to Frisk. **"Just a friend."**

"…I've never heard your voice before." Frisk said carefully.

The stranger sighed, sounding tired. **"No. But I've been watching you, Frisk. See, I'm another of the ones that can see the RESETS as they happen. And… it's kind of sad that you're all alone to face this by yourself. …I know that you're not the one RESETTING, Frisk. I want to help you."**

Frisk froze, and wonderful, wonderful _relief_ washed over their limbs. "I've done this seventy-three times," they whispered. "And I haven't been able to figure out what's going on."

 **"** **I know,"** the voice said sympathetically. **"And no one understands that it's not your fault, right? But I'll listen to you, Frisk! I even know how to get you out of this, if you'll listen to me as well."**

Frisk's breath caught in their hope, and they quickly rubbed at their eyes so whoever was with them wouldn't see the tears of relief. "If you know how to fix this, I'll do whatever you say," Frisk begged. "Please, help me. I don't want to do this anymore..."

 **"** **Of course, Frisk."** The voice said, and Frisk could've sworn they saw a faint figure standing across from them, smiling. **"…My name is Chara. It's very nice to finally meet you."**


	6. Chapter Six

"…Chara? I-I know that name." Frisk whispered. "You… aren't you Asriel's sibling?"

**"** **That's right."** Chara replied softly. " **I've been down here alone for so long, Frisk. We're quite similar, you and I. There's no way for me to achieve what I want now… I just want to see someone get a happier ending than I did. I want to help** ** _you_** **get the ending I wanted."**

"Asriel said you… you tried to kill people though," Frisk said warily. "How can I trust you?"  
 **"…"** Chara was silent for a moment, and when they spoke again their voice was little above a whisper. **"…You probably can guess why I climbed this mountain, Frisk. I…. I hated humans. Humans don't care about each other. And… and when Asriel's soul and mine combined, I was so confused and scared, Frisk… surely you of all people would understand that what I did was just an accident."** Chara begged, and Frisk hesitated before nodding. **"It was my fault that my best friend turned into a soulless flower, Frisk. My fault six children were killed and brought to Asgore. My fault Toriel and Asgore fought each other. I've just been stuck watching everything, unable to talk to anyone for so long. I just want to help… you need to believe that at least."**

The echo of what Frisk had whispered to Sans, of the fear and powerlessness that Frisk knew all too well, was all that Frisk needed to hear. "…okay. I do believe you, Chara. But…. how do you think I can fix this?"

**"** **The human souls, Frisk. Flowey could take over the timeline with them- why not you?"** Chara's voice lightened, and they sounded eager as they started outlining their plan. **"All that you have to do to gain control over the RESET is get to Level 20 and obtain those souls. Then, I can help you do the rest. It'll be easy with the two of us, Frisk! Think of what we could do with complete control of the timeline! We could SAVE everyone… even Asriel."**

"Level 20?" Frisk repeated, understanding crossing over their face. Their eyes widened, and they froze. "Chara you don't mean LOVE points… do you? You can't mean that…"

**"** **Frisk, it's the only way. Unless you want to be stuck in this RESET loop forever, getting to Level 20 is a small price to pay. You only have to do it once, Frisk- then we can have the power to change** **_anything we want_ ** **."**

"But Sans-"

**"** **Who, the skeleton? He already hates you for something you didn't do, Frisk. If you SAVE everyone and then explain it to him and ask for forgiveness, I'm sure he'll accept whatever you say. It doesn't matter if you kill any of your friends, because in the end, this is all for the greater good."**

"Chara…. I _can't_ do that."

**"** **Yes, you can, Frisk! I know you're strong enough too. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you, okay? I promise."**

Frisk backed up, looking around. "I don't… I can't…" Their voice faltered, and they sighed. "Where are you? Why can't I see you?"

**"** **I've been dead for a long time, Frisk."** Chara said softly. **"I don't have a body anymore unless a host gains enough power and allows me to gain control over a body again. If you do this, even if I couldn't leave the Underworld, it'd be nice to have a body again."** Chara paused for a moment, and then asked quietly. **"It's not a bad deal, right? This is the only way for me to get a body again and for you to escape this RESET. Please, Frisk. You're the only one who can do this for me."**

"But Chara… I… I couldn't hurt anyone on purpose." Frisk said, hanging their head as the realization that their one way out might just be the only thing they wouldn't do to get out of the RESET loop. Frisk shivered, and Chara's presence seemed to fill the anger for a moment before the uneasy prickling that had raced down Frisk's back was gone and Chara continued on talking in a gentle, persuasive tone.

**"** **Frisk. Eventually, you're going to go insane if you keep pushing yourself like this. Eventually you're going to slip up again, and hurt someone. And in the end? Imagine how that skeleton would feel when you told him he repeated these few days thousands of times on end before you could bring yourself to do what had to be done. That's just adding insult to injury, Frisk, and** **_that's_ ** **a cruel thing to do."**

Frisk swallowed their throat dry, and as they rubbed their hands together, imagining they could still feel the dust, they closed their eyes and fought back the urge to be sick again.

"Okay. Okay. I…I'll do it."

.

It was surprisingly easy to kill again.

Chara gave them tips, shouted out commands to swing the knife _harder_ and dodge _faster_ , and even though Frisk's clothes started looking washed out and devoid of color because of the dust clinging to them, Toriel still took them into her house. Toriel still _trusted_ them.

Frisk was glad she wouldn't remember this.

It was surprisingly easy to stab her, the kind monster's unwary nature allowing an easy kill. And yet as she started fading, crumbling into dust, she smiled up at Frisk, her smile appearing ugly and cruel on such a kind face. "Now I see… who I _really_ was protecting by keeping you here… not you… but _them._ " And as she spat out those last words, she crumpled into dust.

Chara was quiet for a moment, then after a moment of silence laughed. " **How pathetic! And here I was worried that it'd be hard to get you to strike the killing blow but she died immediately!"**

"Chara…?" Frisk whispered, their grip on the small knife tightening as they stared in horror at their mother's dust. "Why do you sound like that?" Their voice cracked, and they struggled not to puke. "Why do you sound do _happy?"_

" **Oh, please, Frisk, what does it matter?** " Chara tossed back, annoyed. **"You've already leveled up so much! Why do you care how I react to this?"**

"I just… you said you didn't hurt anyone on purpose but you sound…" Frisk's voice died in the throat, and they whispered the end. "Like you're _enjoying_ this."

Frisk waited, expecting some kind of reassurance, another promise like Chara had told them before, on how they could spare no one, on how Frisk was doing the right thing, on how Frisk was going to be ok because it was all worth it.

But this time, Chara was silent.

.

Flowey greeted Frisk like an old friend, and yet Chara had been silent this entire exchange, and didn't start talking again until Frisk stepped out into the snow when they kept up the cheerful facade as they kept pushing Frisk to level up.

Frisk felt sick and twisted, and it was all they could do to keep a blank face instead of collapsing into a shaking wreck and apologizing to everyone over and over again. Frisk wanted to stop and just explain to Sans what had happened... but they had already killed Toriel. If they were a murderer, Frisk… Frisk might as well only put everyone through this pain only once. Chara was right in that aspect. At this point, Sans was going to hate them anyways.

.

Sans sighed, slipping over to the Ruins' entranceway to wait for the kid. Frankly, he was starting to feel concerned. Papyrus had said that he just _knew_ the human's name. No one had told him. But Papyrus hadn't been experimented on like Sans, had never had to go through RESETS to try and fail at something over and over again. Papyrus couldn't remember RESETS.

Sans had made sure that he had been the one experimented on for the more dangerous experiments and that, when everything went to hell and that past was erased, Sans never mentioned it to Papyrus. He was just glad he had shielded his brother from the dark truths behind their childhood, and if Sans had to suffer for that choice, that was fine by him.

The fact that this newest variable was messing with the one thing Sans considered important was what made the human so dangerous. Because if something happened and Papyrus wasn't here… well, Sans didn't know _what_ he would do, actually. He never thought that situation through to the end. Papyrus was just always there, making sure that Sans was taking care of himself and comforting him when Sans felt like there was no point to it all anymore. Papyrus was… he was Sans's family.

Pulled out of his dark thoughts- _heh, i really need to just not think of those times_ \- by the crunch of shoes on snow, Sans started following Frisk as they wandered through the woods. This time, however, the human looked… strange. Their clothes looked faded, their hair and face pale. Dark circles were under their eyes, and they watched their surroundings with watchful eyes that jumped from one shadow to another.

Were they that afraid of Sans? And if so... what had they done to be so scared of him?

Or what were they _planning_ to do?

"human." Sans started, about to ask them to turn around but Frisk did it without waiting for him to ask this time. And then Sans looked into Frisk's eyes and he felt a shiver go down his spine.

What the…? The kid's eyes still held that determined look they always held. But there was also an icy coldness in the gaze that Sans didn't like. And for the first time, Frisk's expression didn't change as the whoopee cushion loudly went off. They had laughed every other time before, no matter how old this joke had gotten.

"that's your cue to uh, laugh." Sans said, trying to understand the situation. But Frisk's expression didn't change, and Sans wondered if he should do something. "or uh, emote at all." Nothing. "OK, that's fine, everyone has their own sense of humor…"

But by now, Sans realized, that something was definitely wrong. And as he watched them kill monsters mercilessly, watched their clothes start appearing more and more faded and how they bluntly ignored any of Papyrus's attempts to be friendly with them, Sans started to feel afraid.

But surely the kid wouldn't actually hurt Papyrus. They were best friends… right…?

Yet Sans wasn't so sure. Was this really the same human he had met what felt like oh so long ago?

.

_I can't do this._ Frisk stared at Papyrus, his arms open wide, and they felt like crying. They had tried everything so Papyrus wouldn't like them, so maybe he'd be uninterested and not fight them, but here he was, offering forgiveness, offering acceptance, just like always even though he knew what Frisk had done… and he was ok with that. He was ok with them... maybe the the last person who would ever look at Frisk with such caring eyes in this RESET.

**"** **Now's your chance."** Chara hissed, and their voice seemed to echo more inside Frisk's head than out at this point, like they were becoming Frisk's own thoughts now. **"It's easy."**

And Frisk closed their eyes and walked forwards, wondering how they'd ever look Sans in the face again...


	7. Chapter Seven

_no. god, please, no, not him._ Sans felt his legs give out from under him, falling to the ground with a hard thunk as he gazed down at the pile of dust with hollow eyes. "h-hey… paps? come on, this isn't funny… you always say that i'm the lazy bone but look, here you are slacking off…" Sans reached out with shaking fingers, brushing against the only thing left on the ground besides the grey dust.

It was Papyrus's red scarf.

_"_ _THIS ISN'T A CAPE, SANS, I TOLD YOU WE HAD TO MAKE A CAPE! A CAPE LOOKS COOLER! THIS IS WAY TOO SHORT TO BE A CAPE… IT'S MORE LIKE A SCARF!"_

_"_ _exactly paps, you'd look way too_ _**cool** _ _with that cape on, hehe. come on, this looks awesome too! And you look even more fashionable since it fits the snowy environment like uh, a noble knight traveling through the woods."_

_"_ _YOU ARE JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO MAKE ANOTHER CAPE."_

_"_ _maybe."_

_"_ _SANS!"_

_"_ _come on, bro, the party starts in half an hour, you look great."_

_"…_ _.I DO?"  
"yeah. you're my super cool brother, after all. since we uh, live in the snow area and not hotlands."_

_"_ _SANS!"_

_"_ _oh, come on paps, you're still smiling."_

_"_ _YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLE."_

"no… no... you can't be gone… papyrus…" Sans carefully picked up the red scarf, hating himself as his hands shook and he looked in the direction of the waterfall caves. This was all his fault. The human had been attacking everything, and Sans had seen the signs he knew all too well. So where the hell had he been when that… that _monster_ had killed his brother? Sans had thought, maybe, that since the human knew how he felt, how Sans would not forget this, that that would be a good enough deterrent on its own. Besides, Papyrus was so kind… nobody could hate him. Nobody could hurt him.

**_but they did._ **

"it's okay… they'll RESET… papyrus, it'll be okay…" Sans whispered. "i won't let this happen again, okay? j-just.. wait a little bit for me."

But if this monster no longer cared about Sans's opinion… maybe they wouldn't RESET. Maybe this was truly the end. Maybe Sans would never see Papyrus again…

No.

If this filthy brother killer wasn't planning on RESETTING… then Sans would **make** them RESET. Even if it was the last thing he did.

A blazing blue eye turned in the direction Frisk had gone, eyes narrowing with hatred. They would pay for this. Sans would make sure of it. He would give them one chance to RESET, like Papyrus would have wanted, but that was it. There would be no more MERCY from Sans.

.

"H-hey. S-stay away from me, yo!" The Monster Kid cried out in terror. Frisk shuddered as they heard the terror in the kid's voice, and guilt washed over them.

 **"** **You can't let anyone live, Frisk."** Chara whispered. **"He's in our way. Don't you want a happy ending? Don't you want your freedom back?"**

And Frisk knew. They knew all too well, and they were starting to realize that maybe it would have been better to just keep trying to talk to Sans, no matter how many RESETS it took. But it was too late. _I'm sorry, Papyrus…_

And Frisk swung at the other kid with all of their might, hoping it would be a quick death. They would make sure to treat everyone like they were the most important people in the world after this run, even if that didn't quite atone for what Frisk was doing.

But a flash of blue entered Frisk's vision, and Undyne was suddenly just _there_ , hands outstretched wide as she took the brunt of Frisk's attack.

"Next time, kid… listen to me when I tell you to get out of here, okay?" Undyne said gently, and Frisk could see her struggling to stay standing.

"U-Undyne… you're hurt…because of me…"

"Hurt? It's noting. Get out of here! Go! I'll hold them off," Undyne pressed, struggling to smile. Frisk watched in silence, forcing their face to remain neutral. They knew, just as well as Undyne did, that this battle was already over before it even started. Only Frisk heard the giggle from Chara, and only Frisk knew that once, long ago, Undyne and Frisk had been best friends. That… that was hard to think about now, Frisk thought bitterly.

The Monster Kid, struggling not to cry, turned and fled, and Undyne coughed as her legs started to transform into dust. "Heh… it's nothing, huh? No. Somehow, with j-just one hit… D-damn it… I'm already…" Undyne closed her eyes, her body giving out on her. "Papyrus… Alphys… Asgore… Just like that, I've failed you…."

Frisk turned away, starting to walk forwards as they heard the last of Undyne's breaths, but then Chara suddenly spoke up. **"We're not done here, yet, Frisk… make sure she stays dead before you leave!"**

"What…?" And Frisk turned, and watched in mute horror as their old best friend rose up again, and faced them, DETERMINATION glinting in her eyes.

And suddenly, she attacked.

.

The battle was long, and harsh, and as Frisk stood looking down at the cup of water in their hand, their dusty face reflecting back up at them, they dropped it, not moving as the water splashed all of their shoes. After a moment they rushed back to the water dispenser, splashing water on their face, on their hands, on their clothes. But the gritty feeling of dust remained even as water ran down their forehead and their clothes became soaking wet.

 **"** **Hey."** Chara's voice echoed around them, curious. **"What's the point of getting wet? You're just going to kill more monsters lately, this won't help."**

"They all called me a monster," Frisk whispered. "Undyne was so happy that she saved a few people… they don't know that I'll RESET all of this, Chara. It's… it's awful."

 **"** **You're more than halfway done, Frisk. I made sure you survived even those awful attacks, didn't I? You're doing great! You're so strong now, and doesn't it feel amazing?!"** Chara laughed, their shrill voice drilling into Frisk's head. **"We're unstoppable, Frisk. Nothing can stop us at this point. It's just you and me, and we're going to be able to do whatever we want by the end of this, okay? So just keep going. You can mope all you want later."**

"…" And Frisk walked onwards.

It hadn't escaped their attention that they hadn't seen Sans a single time since they had fought Papyrus, though.

.

Frisk wondered about their morals when they arrived to find everyone had once again evacuated. As they scanned the empty corridors, all they felt was a twinge of annoyance that it made it harder to gain Levels among the hollow feelings of regret and sadness that remained with Frisk. Even after this, Frisk was sure that these feelings of regret would never go away.

Chara spoke almost constantly now, laughing at Mettaton's futile sacrifice and the slaughter of the guards, all powerless to stand in Frisk's- in Chara's- in _their_ way. The scariest part of this was Chara's voice wove in and out of Frisk's mind now, responding to their every thought, that Frisk was starting to wonder where Frisk began and Chara ended by now.

And Frisk hated how they had started to depend on Chara for everything. With no one else even talking to them, Chara's compliments whenever Frisk gained another Level was the only kind words Frisk had received in a while. How disgusting, Frisk thought bitterly. To only gain kindness when I kill someone.

 **"** **It's not disgusting, Frisk."** Chara butted in, and Frisk paused as they stared up at the elevator to Asgore's castle. **"This is what you had to do to gain your happy ending. You're already Level 19- no one could stop you now, even if they tried. Not even that stupid flower."**

"I thought you and Flowey were friends." Frisk said sadly, and Chara laughed.

**"** **Him? No. He's just a hollow reminder of my failure. He's now in our way, Frisk. If we see him, you know what to do. If we can't rescue him as Asriel this run, then what's the purpose of him, after all? Nothing except EXP. That's it."**

Frisk shuddered, and paused before asking the question that had grown in their mind since Toriel's death that Chara had yet to address. "Chara… after this, what do we do after we RESET? Where will you go?"

**"** **You'll see."**

"But Chara-"

 **"** **You'll see, Frisk. All in good time. Now, I believe that we have one last Level to gain."** Chara brushed Frisk's question off, and as Frisk's body started forwards, Frisk grew to realize that their awareness of each of their movements had started to go numb. Frisk could still move their body, but they no longer felt the ground under their feet, no longer were aware of the feeling of dust caked on their clothes.

And as Frisk and Chara donned the beating heart necklace and the sharp knife, and as Frisk's face twisted into a cold smile as Flowey cried out for them to stop, Frisk realized that their body was no longer completely Frisk's anymore.


	8. Chapter Eight

"well you sure have quite the nerve, showing up here like this, buddy." The figure said shortly, stepping into the light. Frisk and Chara paused, hand tightening around the knife at their side. Sans was wearing his blue hoodie, hood flipped up, and all Frisk could make out was two black orbs staring out at them. He reached up, pulling the hood down, and Frisk was suddenly able to make out the familiar red scarf draped around his neck with a sickening clarity. "tell me, buddy, do you believe that even the worst person can change? …that everyone can be a good person, if they just try?"

 **"** **He's not a threat, Frisk. Let's take him out before he tries anything."** Chara demanded, and Frisk stepped forwards, towards Sans, who slowly raised his head to stare down at Frisk.

"hehehe. can't wait to get at me, huh? well, in all fairness, i'll give you a choice: stop moving right here. not another step forwards. just RESET, and i'll let this one slide. but… take one more step forwards and… let's just say **you're going to have a bad time**. This is your only warning kid, 'cause you're REALLY not going to like what happens next."

 _W-wait, Chara!_ Frisk thought, freezing. _Please let me try and talk to him first!_

" **What's the point, Frisk?"** Chara asked shortly. **"He's in our way."**

 _We only need one more level… Asgore is enough, right? We're going to RESET after this so Sans might just let us through!_ Frisk pleaded.

**"…** **fine. But it's not going to work, Frisk…"**

Frisk slowly raised their head, and took a deep breath. "…Sans… look, I'm sorry about what I did but… j-just let me past here, and I'll RESET in a few minutes, okay? I just need to finish this run and that's all. If I gain-"

"sorry about what you did?" Sans interrupted, and slowly his eye started to glow blue. Frisk felt a chill go down their spine, and Sans shook his head, chuckling darkly. "kid. maybe you should have thought of all this before you, i dunno, killed my brother? killed everyone you met? what the hell is an 'i'm sorry' supposed to do for anyone at this point? RESET right now, frisk, if you still remember what it's like to be friends. no matter what you say or do… this is where this run **ends.** "

Frisk shivered, and then pulled their shoulders back, meeting Sans's furious gaze with their own as they shook with frustration. "You're always doing this, Sans! You never listen to me all the way through! If I could just tell you what's going on here-"  
"i know what's going on, buddy, and i'm not interested in the minute details that don't really, y'know, change anything for me. my only brother is dead, and all i know is the quickest way to get him back is for you to RESET… whether you want to or not."

"Sans!"

 **"** **I told you, he won't listen, Frisk."** Chara butted in. **"Come on, we're so close to the end, we can't stop now!"**

Frisk stiffened, feeling Chara start trying to force their body to take a step forwards and ignite the battle with Sans. They stiffened, fighting against it, and frustration and sadness filled Frisk until finally, they burst.

They were tired of this.

They were tired of being ignored.

They were tired of being blamed.

They were tired of being used.

"This is partly your fault its come to this, Sans! You… you stubborn _idiot_ , why do you think I had to go to such drastic measures? I killed Papyrus only because you wouldn't listen to me!"

Sans stiffened, his grin growing wider as Frisk sucked in a breath after their outburst and heavy silence filled the room. "…buddy. i think you're confused here. there's only one person responsible for killing papyrus in this room, and that's _you._ i've never done anything to hurt my brother. i didn't stab him with a knife when _he was sparing you_."

And suddenly, Frisk was no longer the one in control of the body. **_"Hahaha, you really believe that, don't you?"_** Chara sneered, stepping forwards. **_"You think you're innocent, huh? Free of blame? Do you really think a child that loves everyone would just suddenly kill everyone? The ability to RESET warps people, sure, but do you know what else creates ticking time bombs? Rejection. Loneliness. Fear. All of which you freely gave_** **us** ** _, Sans."_** Sans's eyes darted to their feet, and he sighed before his eye flickered and the SOUL on Frisk/Chara's chest turned blue with a dinging sound.

"us?" Sans asked, then shrugged. "welp. Sorry, old lady. this is why i never make promises." He closed his eyes, stance relaxed. "it's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing. flowers are blooming… on days like these, kids like you…" His eyes opened, and Frisk couldn't help but shiver as black voids stared them down, the grin not moving from its fixed position on Sans's face. "should be burning in hell." And suddenly, everything blew up.

Creatures with gaping smiles and glowing eyes shot beams of light at Frisk and Chara and they had to scramble to the side and dive for it as the beams barely missed where they had been standing. Bones exploded out of the ground, attempting to encircle Frisk and drive them into a corner, but Chara was faster on their feet and was prepared.

 **"** **To the right! No, not the left, the right!"** Chara demanded, yanking their body the other way. Sans watched Frisk scramble for cover with the same expressionless grin that he had held the entire time. Frisk and Chara slid to a stop, whirling around and diving at Sans with a blade flashing, but Sans merely stepped to the side, eyes fixed on his attacker.

"come on, buddy, you don't think i'll just stand here and take it, right?" He asked softly, hands still in his pockets.

Chara hissed in Frisk's mind, then barked out an order for Frisk to move it because Sans wasn't joking around when he had decided to attack him; there was little time to pause and regroup, and Frisk was shocked at how strong the skeleton had ended up being. Frisk had always known Sans would probably be a strong opponent but this was terrifying. If Chara wasn't here, Frisk doubted they would have lasted even a minute into the fight without being killed.

Still, despite the human's best attempts to pin the knife in the skeleton, Sans managed to dodge each and every blow. Chara grew angrier and angrier, and it was all Frisk could do to follow Sans's attacks without dying and keep up with Chara's angry rant in their head.

"huh. still alive, huh? your DETERMINATION seems way too strong." Sans commented idly, and Frisk could see sweat trickling down his face. "hey… you never answered my question earlier. frisk, i've known you for a long time, if you count all of those, uh, RESETS. i know there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. even last run, i know you wanted to do the right thing. we were friends once, y'know?" Sans closed one eye and shrugged. "c'mon, buddy, you remember, right? please, if you're listening, let's forget all this, ok? lay down your weapon, and well, my job will be a lot easier."

And for once during this conversation, Chara and Frisk were on the same page. **_"…Hahahaha. 'I know there's a good person inside of you?' What kind of bullshit is that, Sans? Didn't we beg you to believe we wanted to do the right thing? Didn't we plead that we would try our best? And yet, when we were following your rules, when we played nice and did actually do the right thing, what did you do, Sans? You said you didn't believe us then. You left us all alone. You don't really think we'll fall for the same trick we used to kill your own brother with, do you?"_**

Sans stiffened, and at that moment, Chara and Frisk lunged, slashing at Sans, who swiftly stepped to the side, eye glowing blue for a moment.

"…heh. maybe you have a point there… i wasn't going to spare you even if you tried mercy the second you stepped forwards." Sans sighed as two more gaster blasters shot towards Frisk and Chara, who dove to dodge the beams. "but what I'm curious about here, is why the plural? is that some attempt to creep me out here?"

 ** _"_** ** _And why should we tell you?"_** Chara hissed through Frisk's voice. **_"Just do us a favor and fall already!"_**

"i, uh, can't do that. i've been through a lot of RESETS and generally am fine with doing nothing… hell, maybe that's just saying i'm lazy, but this time is different. you're going to destroy all the timelines, kid, and i can't let that happen. and if i get even for what you did to paps… well. that's just a bonus, huh?"

 _Destroy the timelines?_ Frisk thought, confusion filling them. _Chara, what is he talking about?_

 **"** **Nothing- is what I'd say, but I suppose it doesn't matter too much now, does it?"** Chara replied calmly, their voice dark and cold. **"We're almost at the end, anyways. Once I get to Level 20, Frisk, we'll have the power to destroy this entire world. Everyone that hurt us. Everyone that turned their backs on us. Everyone will be erased. All thanks to your DETERMINATION. You'll be out of this time loop, Frisk, and me? I'll get your body as my prize. That was the deal, wasn't it?"** Chara laughed, and Frisk only barely managed to dodge one of Sans's attacks with how their mind was reeling in shock and horror at this revelation. **"Well. The deal was kind of stacked in my favor, wasn't it? But don't worry. You'll still be with me, Frisk. We'll be partners forever! After all, I promised to take care of you, hehehe."**

 _No! Chara, get out of my head! Get out of my body! You can't do this!_ Frisk shouted, but Chara shoved them aside so hard that Frisk felt pain shoot through their consciousness. And suddenly, there was no Frisk in control of the body anymore. It was Chara's body now.

And Chara was better at fighting than Frisk had been. Chara expertly wove back and forth, eyes glinting in delight over the full control of the body so very like their original one, and they started to laugh.

"uh, well, i didn't want to do this, buddy. i thought this anomaly would eventually cure itself. you'd get bored of the RESETS, and all you needed was to get what you wanted. some good food. some bad laughs. some nice friends. but… strange, it almost feel as if frisk isn't here anymore… i wonder why?" Sans asked as suddenly time started to shift. Frisk watched in fascination as Frisk's- no, Chara's body suddenly went back to where it had been five seconds ago before getting hit by a bone that made Chara cry out in anger. "you need to learn how to QUIT someday… and that day is today." Sans said quietly.

But of course Chara didn't listen, screaming in anger, too mad to talk to Sans after being hit. _Chara let me have my body back!_ Frisk begged as Sans dodged another swipe from the knife.

 **"** ** _No! It's… mine… now!_ "** Chara hissed aloud, their voice no longer just in Frisk's head as Sans turned his gaze back towards Chara as his smile seemed to diminish for a moment.

"huh. well, i didn't want to do this but, uh, i guess i'll have to use my special attack after this move if you don't QUIT now."

But Chara didn't listen.

In the next few seconds, Sans attacked viciously, gaster blasters diving at Chara and Chara's body becoming heavier and heavier as their blue SOUL pulsed against their chest. But Chara could taste victory, could tell that they were going to win… they had gotten this far, after all. Frisk struggled, trying to take back some kind of control of their body while Chara was occupied. And to their surprised delight, it worked to some extent. Chara was so busy concentrating, Frisk managed to slip past Chara's defenses without being detected, although Frisk knew they probably only could seize control of the body for a few seconds before Chara overpowered them again.

Finally, abruptly, Sans stopped and stepped back, eye glowing blue. "welp. here it is, then. my special attack."

 **"** ** _What special attack? You're not doing anything to us-_ "** Abruptly, Frisk could feel Chara's limbs lock up, their SOUL pulsating at Sans forced Chara down to their knees, incapacitated. **" _W-what…_ "**

"that's right. this is my special attack. it's literally nothing. and it's not gonna be something, either. heh heh heh, get it? i know i can't beat you, one of your turns you're going to swing that knife and skewer me just as you did to papyrus. so, uh. i just decided. it's not gonna be your turn, ever. i'm just gonna have MY turn until you give up. even if it means we have to stand here until the end of time, capiche?"

Chara struggled, unable to move, and glared up at Sans with Frisk's eyes. " ** _Y-you… you're more pathetic than your good for nothing brother! You call this a fight?_!"**

"uh, no. but you'll get bored eventually. name calling and trying to make me angry won't work, buddy. so uh, eventually you'll get tired of this and just QUIT."

Sans watched them struggle, and squinted at them while continuing to grin. "this is the end, okay? there's nothing left for you to do here, buddy, so in my opinion, the most "determined" thing you can do is to uh, completely give up. And…" Sans yawned, the sweat trickling down his face. "do literally anything else. maybe you could start by giving frisk their body back?"

 **"** ** _Y-you! How dare you…!_ " **Frisk was silent, watching as Chara struggled for hours, screaming insults at Sans until their voice grew hoarse. When Sans started to close his eyes, however, Chara immediately fell silent, and Frisk felt their body tense as Chara prepared to rush at Sans. And as Sans fell asleep, exhausted from their fight, Chara yanked themselves to their feet despite the pressure on their SOUL, and dove at Sans, slashing wildly at him.

Sans, however, opened his eyes and neatly dodged. "heh, you didn't really think i'd-"

 _Sans!_ Frisk cried out, but no one could hear them as Chara twisted back around and slashed Sans across his chest. It was instantly over.

"uhhhh…" Sans looked down, red starting to drip from the wound. Was it blood? Frisk wasn't sure. "welp. i'm… i'm going to grillby's…" he started to walk past Chara, who stepped out of his way and merely watched him go, a cold smile appearing on their face. Frisk was forced to watch from Chara's triumphant gaze as Sans stumbled, slumped to the floor, and called his brother's name for the last time before he too, turned to dust.

As Frisk cried out for Sans, Chara merely laughed and tossed the knife on the ground as they shook their head. **"After all that talk,"** they laughed. **"That was it?"**

 _Chara… I'm not letting you get away with this!_ Frisk said, realizing what they had to do. Before Chara noticed, Frisk suddenly seized control of the body, yanking back the reins and gasping in relief as their sensations came rushing back and they could breathe again. Chara was sent tumbling out of their body, a dark shadow that seemed to simmer with anger. Frisk could barely see the outline of Chara as the angry SOUL picked itself off the ground, turning to glare at Frisk with the only notable feature being bright red eyes on their face.

" **Frisk, what are you doing?!"** Chara hissed, uncertainty filling their voice for the first time. " **Stop this nonsense and let me back in, Frisk.** **We have to get up and go to the next room. Then the time loop is over. We'll be out of this awful world forever. We'll be** ** _gods_** **, Frisk- come on, you're almost there!"**

"…" Frisk shuddered, eyes traveling down to look at the dust caking their hands, their clothes, their feet… Chara had done this, and Frisk was acutely aware that they had come incredibly close to losing not only their own beliefs and morals, but their entire body as well. "No more…" They whispered, walking over and leaning down to pick up and clutch the blue hoodie and red scarf that had fallen to the ground close. "This isn't what you promised me, Chara! I never said you could have _my_ body! I never said you could just… just destroy everything!"

 **"** **Promised? I said that if you got to Level 20 then we'd get out of this time loop and we'd have the power to do whatever we wanted. How is that not what I promised? I'm upholding** ** _my_** **side of the agreement, Frisk- are you?"** Chara retorted bitingly. " **Now let me back in, Frisk. You've offed everyone else- what's one mopey king and a pitiful flower going to matter to you now? No one cares about you anymore. There's only you and me, Frisk, but don't worry. I'll never leave you like** ** _they_** **did. That rotten comedian in particular… he thought he was the martyr, the one that was worst off and suffering. He didn't want to listen to reason, Frisk- he just blamed you over and over and never believed you. How many times, was it, Frisk? How many times did you try and talk to him only to be shut down? You did yourself a** ** _favor_** **, killing him."**

"No… no…" Frisk whispered, feeling tears start to well up in their eyes. "Stop… I don't want to hear this! _You're_ the one that killed him!"

 **"** **But it's all true, Frisk,"** Chara whispered. " **Face it. You felt good finally killing everyone, finally seeing something new in this awful time loop. Those monsters no longer cared about you. You** ** _changed_** **Frisk, in a way they didn't want to get to know… so you made things the way you liked then. I didn't kill them after all, Frisk.** ** _You_** **did. Sure, I had control in the last few seconds of the battle, but you could have stopped me before I actually did it. Look at how you managed to push me out of your body after the fight- why didn't you do that earlier?"**

"No…." Frisk hiccupped, burying their face into their hands. "I didn't mean to… I thought doing this once would give you enough power to help me, Chara, you never said this would be _permanent._ I'm not… I'm not a murderer! This isn't who I am!"

 **"** **Oh please, you never truly believed that, did you?"** Chara laughed, a snickering noise in Frisk's head that caused Frisk to shrink in onto themselves. " **You knew this would change things. Sans will** ** _never_** **forget this, Frisk. You can't go back now even if you wanted to."**

Frisk shrank back in on themselves, mind reeling as they realized that they might be unable to ever see anyone's face ever again, because Chara had won. Chara was going to destroy everything, and it was all Frisk's fault.

And then Frisk's eyes landed on the knife, still lying where they had thrown it when they had killed Sans. Frisk hesitated only for a moment before they picked it up, tears starting to drip down their face. "…if he hates me for this…I deserve that at least." Frisk murmured, and Chara's voice went up an octave in alarm.

**"** **Y-you… Frisk! Don't you** **_dare_ ** **… Wait, stop!"**

But it was too late. Frisk swung the knife down, as hard as they could, and then all Frisk felt was immense pain and then darkness.

Then they opened their eyes, and saw the golden flowers again. And they sat up and they cried.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Glad you're enjoying all the bad times~

"papyrus!" Sans gasped, jerking upright and promptly rolling off the edge of his bed. He hit the ground with a bang, and he stared up at the ceiling for a moment in shock. Abruptly, his arms jerked up, feeling his chest gingerly as he searched for the wound the human had killed him with.

"o-oh. they… they RESET again…" Sans whispered, and he felt himself start to shake as relief washed over him. He pressed one hand against his forehead, taking deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down as a pale blue glow lit up his room in response to his frantic emotions. Sans stayed like that for at least an hour, struggling to keep himself from lashing out with his power, before he heard noises coming from downstairs.

That was right…. Today always started off with Papyrus cooking spaghetti for breakfast and catching the stove on fire by accident.

Not bothering to get dressed, Sans slipped on his slippers and wandered downstairs. Pausing at the entrance to the kitchen, Sans sighed in relief as he watched Papyrus spill spaghetti everywhere. _papyrus… thank god…_ Sans quietly slipped over, and gingerly reached out to hug his brother from behind.

"WHA- SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP SO EARLY? YOU'RE NEVER UP EARLY!" Papyrus asked in surprise, looking down at Sans in confusion.

"couldn't sleep…" Sans murmured, and Papyrus's eyes widened in recognition.

"WAS IT ANOTHER NIGHTMARE?" He asked gently, and Sans nodded, looking away. He knew Papyrus suspected there were things Sans wasn't telling him, but Sans wasn't sure how to ever explain it all to Papyrus. "...DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT?"

"…not really. today will you just… just let me walk around with you…? i… i don't feel so good, paps…"

"OF COURSE, SANS. NOW, HOW ABOUT YOU HELP ME COOK THIS SPAGHETTI. I WANTED IT TO BE A SURPRISE FOR BREAKFAST, BUT THIS WORKS JUST AS WELL! I THINK IT'S GOING REALLY WELL- OHHHH NO."

Sans peered past his brother and managed to snicker when he looked back at his brother's horrified face. It seemed that the stove behind Sans and Papyrus, left unattended, had abruptly burst into flames.

Strangely though, the human never showed up that day. Or in the many quiet days to come. Sans was left watching the Ruins' door, alone in his thoughts, as RESETS happened one after another….

And yet Frisk still didn't appear.

.

 **"** **I can't believe this."** Chara hissed. Frisk covered their ears, turning away from the direction of the voice and squeezing their eyes shut. _I'm not listening, I'm not listening, shut up, shut up, go away…_

 **"** **I was so close,"** Chara continued, undeterred by Frisk's silence treatment. **"And what happens? This sniveling, weak,** ** _coward_** **decided to take their own life for what?! Morals? God, you are pathetic, Frisk."**

"Leave me alone!" Frisk cried, burying their face in their knees. "I just want to be left alone!"

 **"** **You think I'll just let you off so easily for taking everything away from me, Frisk? No. You're mine, Frisk, whether you like it or not.** **That's my body that you're selfishly keeping to yourself."**

"It's not!" Frisk bit back. "If it's yours, why don't you just take it back then? What have you been waiting for, Chara?"

**"…** **tsk. You're back at Level 1, so there wouldn't be much point now, would there?"**

Frisk jerked, startled, and then realized what Chara meant. "…you mean you _can't_ take over my body at this point until I kill someone." Frisk felt their shoulders relax, some of the anxiety leaving as the immediate threat vanished. "…Why don't you go find someone else to bother? I'm never going to kill anyone ever again, Chara. Just... just give up on me. Everyone else already has."

 **"** **Ohhhh no. No, you're not getting rid of me that easily. You can't escape these RESETS either, Frisk. Not until you do something about your SAVE file's virus. Which, if I may point out, isn't going to fix itself. face it, you** ** _need_** **me, Frisk!"** Chara hissed.

Frisk, however, at this moment, felt their blood run cold. "V-virus? What do you mean?!" Frisk stood up, looking around for a hint of the SOUL that had plagued them lately. "Chara, what do you mean virus?! Someone else doesn't have the RESET power? You weren't doing this to make me kill people…?!"

 **"** **Like I have the power to do that, idiot. I can't even take over a stupid crybaby's body at this point."** Chara snapped. **"Of course this problem is with you, Frisk. You wouldn't remember RESETS if someone else was doing them, nor would they be so oh so perfectly timed with events taking place around you. The comedian was correct in his assumption that these RESETS? You're still the one doing them, Frisk. Even if it's without your control. Get it? You need my help. You need me. You can't turn your back on me, Frisk, right? Come on, we're partners…. I wasn't going to hurt you, and… and you plan to SAVE everyone, right? So you can't just leave me here…"** Chara's voice pleaded, but Frisk shuddered, wrapping their arms around themself.

"…how long have you known, Chara?" Frisk asked quietly. "How long have you known about this… this virus?"

**"** **I had my suspicions when I first talked to you, but only when you decided to stupidly commit suicide did those suspicions get confirmed."**

"…hahaha. So Sans was right…" Frisk said hysterically, before they froze, eyes widening. "oh god, Sans… I can't face him. Not after what I did... I can't do this anymore…" Frisk murmured, swaying unsteadily on their feet. They were silent for a moment before they took a raspy breath, slowly letting it back out as Frisk tried to focus on not having a panic attack in that moment. "L-Look... Chara. Originally, I _did_ want to SAVE everyone. Originally, I didn't want to hurt anyone. But… but now I just feel so _empty_. Like what you made me do killed me on the inside. So when you try manipulating me based on my naïve nature now? …That's not going to work, anymore, Chara. Because I… I just realized that I _just wouldn't care if you died_." Frisk was silent for a moment before laughing bitterly again, wiping away the tears that dripped down their face. "…I'm so pathetic. Despite killing everyone, I still feel sorry for myself instead of worrying about how much I hurt everyone else. Why don't you just go rot in hell for all I care? It's not like I'm getting any better deal here."

 **"…"** Chara was stunned into silence, and then they laughed. It wasn't a nice laugh, either. **"Aren't you dramatic, Frisk. Fine, then. I'll leave you alone. But Frisk, you know we're really alike in the end, right? What you said just** ** _proved_** **it. So let's see just how long you can go before this numbness consumes you like it did me. And the second you kill someone again…** ** _I'll be waiting_** **."**

The silence that filled the minutes spanning Chara's departure seemed to press in around Frisk, and they curled up in the golden flowers again as they, exhausted and afraid, went back to sleep.

.

When Frisk woke up, they quietly moved on. They talked to Flowey and met Toriel again.

…neither remembered Frisk.

And when it came time for Toriel to try and destroy the entrance of the Ruins, Frisk didn't try and stop her. They quietly watched, and once the deed was done Frisk asked softly if Toriel would go read more of the snail book to them. It didn't matter, really, what the book was about… it was a distraction to Frisk's thoughts, a well appreciated distraction, to the little voice that whispered how Frisk was a coward, trying not to meet Sans again. Frisk merely shrugged that feeling off. They wanted to just be with their mother for now… was that too much to ask?

.

Apparently it was.

Exactly five days after Frisk had first woken up with Chara, the world RESET itself. Frisk scratched their head and sighed. "So… if I die, it RESETS. If I leave the Underworld, it RESETS. If I stay in one place for too long, it RESETS…" Frisk rubbed their face then forced a fake grin on it. "W-well, that's fine. At least if I stay with Toriel I don't have to face…" Frisk trailed off, sighing. "…I…I still need to figure out how to fix this virus. But...but that can wait! I'm not ready to move forwards. Not now."

And so Frisk stayed with Toriel, again and again and again.

The same question, cinnamon or butterscotch over and over again.

Alternating answers, just because Frisk could.

The same book, and same gentle kindness from the monster Frisk had murdered only a few days ago in their eyes.

The same kisses on the forehead, the same kind gaze that lit up whenever Frisk was in the room.

Toriel was always very kind to Frisk when they stayed with her, of course. She took care of them, and taught them all sorts of things about the Ruins and monsters that lived there. She told them all about snails, and hugged Frisk during the nights when they uneasily paced around the house, unable to go back to bed because of fear of what might be lurking in their dreams. She would hold Frisk tight and tell them its all right when Frisk would randomly break down, crying and hyperventilating as memories and fears flashed before their eyes.

It was hard. Frisk half expected Chara to return and whisper threats and promises to them again but… but Chara didn't come back. Instead, a soft whispering started whenever the world RESET, a voice that sounded familiar yet foreign to Frisk. But eventually, Frisk knew they had to face their fears or those fears would never go away. Besides, Frisk owed it to everyone to try and fix everything, even if it took them thousands of RESETS… right?

And so finally, eight RESETS and 40 days later, Frisk hesitantly opened the Ruins' door and stopped back out into the cold.

They couldn't stay with Toriel forever, after all…

.

Facing Sans was _hard._

Upon hearing the snapping of a twig, Frisk hesitantly turned around, eyes trained to the ground as they hesitantly raised their gaze to focus on Sans's hand. Frankly, Frisk was surprised Sans was even willing to go near them now.

But as Frisk hesitantly shook the hand that Sans had offered and realized that something was _different_ , they felt something inside of them break. "…where's the joke?" Frisk whispered, hyper aware of the feeling of the skeleton's grip and the blatant lack of a whoopee cushion.

Sans merely closed one eye and stared at Frisk, an unreadable expression on his face. "sorry kid. there's no punch line here… i kind of lost my sense of humor for this."

And something about the way Sans shifted his balance, how his eyes remained warily locked on Frisk's hands, on how _afraid_ he looked…

Frisk stood silently, looking down at the ground, and Sans turned to leave them. "W-wait… Sans." They called, their voice trembling.

Sans stopped, but he didn't turn around.

"I'm… I'm a stupid doo doo butt." Frisk said quietly, and the first tear fell onto the snow. "I'm the legendary fart master. I'm a stupid, _stupid_ idiot that broke your trust and hurt you. I'm a m-murderer, and I can't expect you to forgive me for that." Frisk could only see the watery outline of Sans's back as tears overflowed from their eyes, and their breath grew ragged. "B-but please… please don't leave me alone, Sans. Don't act like it never happened. I'm so _alone_ and everything I do to fix things just seems to make them worse. I just want… I just want to stop all of this. Please… Sans… I'm so, so sorry. I can't even… I c-can't even tell you how sorry I am. I know I don't deserve your mercy, Sans. I just… I just…" And Frisk broke down, crying as all of the fear and pain escaped them at once.

Sans finally turned around to look, and silently he awkwardly patted the human child on the head, unreadable emotions swimming in his eyes.

"…why don't you start by telling me just who exactly it was that killed me, huh? …you've gotta pay for the meal, though."


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoah, so many comments! Thanks everyone, I hope you enjoy this chapter, a lot of you seem to love the idea of Sans and Frisk talking, haha.

"SANS!" Papyrus yelled, stomping out over the snow. "YOUR PUZZLES HAVEN'T BEEN RECALIBRATED YET! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU… UHHHH…. SANS… IS THAT… A HUMAN?"

"wha- a human? really paps? does this look like a human?" Sans asked, gesturing at Frisk, who was trying not to look haunted as their eyes darted back and forth between the skeleton brothers.

"WELL, YES. THAT'S WHAT UNDYNE SAID A HUMAN LOOKED LIKE, AND THEY DON'T LOOK LIKE ANY MONSTER I'VE SEEN."  
"looks like a- whoah whoah whoah, paps, this is a skeleton! can't you tell?"

"…A SKELETON?"

"yeah! our distant cousin, in fact. They got stuck in a… meat sack… so they came to snowdin to see if I could help 'em out. but this is 100% a skeleton." Sans assured his brother.

Frisk covered their face with one hand, wondering where Sans got the energy to smile like that from.

Papyrus frowned, narrowed his eyes, and then shrugged as his happy-go-lucky attitude sprang forth. "OH! WELL, IT'S VERY NICE TO MEET YOU, FELLOW SKELETON! WOWEE, I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD A COUSIN! DO YOU LIKE PUZZLES? OR SPAGHETTI? OR BOTH?"

Sans at this, glanced at Frisk out of the corner of his way and shifted, moving in between Papyrus and Frisk. "uhhh… listen, paps, they're pretty timid so uh, how about you leave 'em with me for now? you kinda scare them."

"WHAT?! BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE NEVER SCARED ANYONE BEFORE!"

"maybe you're finally looking the part of a member of the royal guard!" Sans offered, and then grabbed Frisk's elbow and started pulling them away from Papyrus. "but I'm gonna take a snow check and go with our _cousin_ here for the day, ok paps?"

"...FINE. BUT JUST THIS ONCE, SANS! BYE LITTLE SKELETON! I HOPE YOU GET OUT OF THAT MEAT SACK SOON!"

Sans and Frisk ducked out of view, and Sans sighed, shoulders sagging as the smile slipped a bit from his face. "knew we should've just taken the shortcut," he muttered. He reached up, snapped his fingers, and Frisk yelped as suddenly the ground seemed to tilt out from under them and they fell down, landing in the snow as Sans glanced down at them for a moment before stepping forwards into the town of Snowdin. "come on, then."

Frisk meekly followed the skeleton into Grillby's, where strangely only Grillby lingered. "Where is everyone?" Frisk asked quietly, and Sans turned back to them, eye glowing for a moment.

"i told them to clear this place for their own safety for a good hour… just in case." He walked over to the counter, sliding into a seat with ease, and Frisk followed hesitantly, still shocked Sans was even allowing them this.

"Sans… thanks. For at least hearing me out," Frisk started awkwardly, and Sans tilted his head, watching them for a moment.

"yeah… uh, look. there is one condition to this… whatever you call it. timeline works, I guess." Frisk blinked, then nodded, watching Sans to explain what he meant. Sans sighed again, scratching his head then pulled out a bottle of ketchup, opening it and taking a swig. "i don't want you near papyrus without me, buddy. at all. i don't care what excuses you make, but if i'm not there with the two of you, then you shouldn't be either, got it?"

Frisk swallowed and nodded, their hands tightening on their knees. That was only fair, they supposed.

"ok, great. …hey, grillby, mind hitting us up with two burgers?" Sans kept his gaze on Frisk, and they squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze. "right. well, you wanted me to listen to you, right? go ahead, kiddo, i brought you here so you can do just that. i won't cut you off, ok? just explain to me what's been going on and then we'll see if i believe it."

Frisk nodded, and forced themself to keep looking into Sans's eyes. "There's a SOUL without a body," they started quietly. "Their name is Chara and they take over people who happen to gain lots of LOVE…"

As Frisk quietly spoke, leaving nothing out and the details of what Chara was and what happened each time the RESET occurred, Sans's smile faded and a small frown made its way onto his face. Frisk started averting their eyes when they got to the RESET where Chara took over, shame flooding into their voice.

"I was an idiot, Sans... About Chara. I believed that if I gained enough LV… I could just go back, no harm no foul. Chara promised me that was what would happen. They said you wouldn't listen until I fixed the RESETS, which I could only do with LV 20 and the human SOULS. I'm… I'm sorry, Sans. Really, really sorry…"

Sans sighed, rubbed his forehead with both hands, the bottle of ketchup beside him empty. After a moment he shook his head, a bitter smile in place. "geez, kiddo, from the sound of it, it shouldn't just be you apologizing." Sans studied Frisk a moment longer and sighed. "part of me doesn't believe you, frisk. part of me doesn't _want_ to believe it, because if what you say is true then these RESETS might never end. but uh, i've never seen a human's eyes glow red before like yours did. even after what you did to paps… i'm sorry, frisk. i forgot you were so young, and i've uh, really left you out to dry by yourself, huh?"

Frisk stiffened, eyes widening as the first spark of hope flickered inside of them. "R-really? Then, you believe me?"

"…welp, if you can bring me proof that it's a virus, kid, then i can say without a doubt i believe all of this. but… but for now, frisk, i'll help you out. we can look for the evidence together, at least. understand that i'll be watching you, so no more killing people, okay? …i don't feel like meeting your uh, _friend_ again." Sans said, reaching out and tousling Frisk's hair.

Frisk stared back at the skeleton, and their red-rimmed eyes widened with excitement. "Y-yes! Thank you Sans, _thank you_!"

"…no problem, kiddo. sorry for uh, brushing you off earlier. i've been lied to about stuff like this before, but i guess i picked the wrong person to pick a bone with here."

Frisk grinned tentatively back at Sans, then sighed. "But where do we even start looking, Sans? I've never noticed anything out of the ordinary during these past RESETS."

"…how about for now, you just stay at my house, and we'll just start looking around. if it comes down to it, maybe i have some ideas. i've uh, experimented with my own RESETS before." Sans muttered, slipping out of his seat and stuffing his hands into his pockets as he wandered towards the door after yelling at Grillby to put the meal on his tab despite his earlier request for Frisk to pay.

Frisk blinked, then hurried after the skeleton. "You mean stay at your house for the entire time? Is… is that wise, Sans? Papyrus is there…"

"it's fine." Sans said firmly. "you better get used to my presence though, kiddo, because i'm not going to leave you alone anymore until we find what we're looking for, evidence to prove… or disprove… what you've told me."

Frisk followed Sans to his house, and watched with surprised eyes as Sans opened the door and gestured or Frisk to go ahead. Frisk hesitated for a moment longer, wondering if Sans was just playing a prank on them or something, but the skeleton seemed genuine this run. Taking a deep breath and offering a shaky smile, Frisk crossed into the threshold.

"OH! COUSIN! SANS, YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THEY'D BE LIVING WITH US! I NEED TO MAKE A SPECIAL DINNER TO WELCOME THEM INTO OUR HOME!"

.

Frisk sat on the couch, and they felt sweat trickle down their face. Sandwiched between two skeletons, one animatedly talking about the joys of puzzles and the other nodding along while watching Frisk out of the corner of his eye, the pressure of the situation was making Frisk uncomfortable. Despite Frisk's frequent interactions with the citizens of the Underground, Frisk had only felt personally involved with Chara since the third run had ended. Having someone finally watching Frisk, finally talking to Frisk and sharing all of their worries was strangely liberating.

Even if Sans was acting like he was Frisk's patrol officer at the moment.

The TV beeped again, and Frisk focused their gaze on Mettaton's performance. It was strange, they thought. Sans had told them to take a break from trying to get out of the Underground (for all the good that had done the 71 times Frisk had actually completed the pacifist route) and just focus on watching the RESETS whenever they happened, but just relaxing in the time being was an odd feeling to Frisk... even after staying at Toriel's like this eight times.

So here Frisk was, apparently Sans's and Papyrus's new cousin and an honorary 'monster.' Why Sans thought this would be a good idea, Frisk wasn't entirely sure.

"welp, I'm going to head off to bed." Sans stretched, yawning, and Papyrus eagerly stood up.

"WAIT, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FORGET TO READ ME THE USUAL BEDTIME STORY, RIGHT SANS?"

"…of course not, bro. come on, let's go find the book."

"WOWEE! COUSIN, YOU COME TOO! THE ENDING OF PEEK-A-BOO-BUNNY ALWAYS GETS ME, I'M SURE YOU'LL LOVE IT!" Papyrus announced, picking up Frisk and tucking them under one arm as he raced up the stairs.

Frisk peeked over their shoulder and saw Sans start to follow, before Frisk sighed and hesitatingly grinned up at Papyrus. Oh well. Frisk wouldn't accomplish anything by trying to make themself miserable, so why not try and have some fun?

.

Sans was reading his joke book on the sofa, still awake despite his earlier claims. His gaze drifted to the window, where the darkness hinted that every other resident of Snowdin was currently asleep. Sleeping had gotten harder for him though, since he had been killed. Since Papyrus had gotten killed. Sleep brought back those memories in vivid recollections, along with past RESETS that had also ended in tragedy and thoughts of long ago.

Tonight, at least, Sans didn't want to see those memories. He had decided to give Frisk as good of a second chance as possible, and Sans constantly blaming the kid wouldn't help anything. He was going to keep a close eye on them for sure, though. Sans knew oh too well that there was a difference between a second chance and completely letting his guard down and regretting it later. His fingers drummed against the sofa's arm for a moment as Sans wearily wondered if these nightmares would ever go away. Probably not.

The upstairs door creaked open, and Sans's gaze instantly shot up to his room's door. Papyrus always oiled his door hinges, so that must mean it was his own door opening, where Frisk was staying. After all, there was no way Frisk could stay alone with Papyrus at night and Sans preferred the sofa to sleep on anyways, there were less sheets to have to tidy up after the night. It also offered an excellent point to keep an eye on the two doors upstairs.

Small footsteps echoed around the house as a small shape came down the stairs, pausing at the foot of the stairs as the figure shied away from Sans for a moment.

Sans, realizing his eye was glowing blue so he could have enough light to read the joke book in, dimmed his eye to its normal white pupil, and set down the book. "hey, kiddo? why are you up- frisk?"

The child, suddenly looking small and scared- _not at all like how scary they had looked while holding a knife_ \- clutched the blanket around them tighter and looked away from Sans's face in embarrassment. "I had a nightmare…" They whispered, and Sans blinked in surprise.

"o-oh." They silently stared at each other, then Sans scooted over and gestured for Frisk to come climb up beside him. "…c'mere, kiddo. i'm up for the same reason."

"…ok." The human gingerly sat on the edge of the sofa's seat, and Sans could barely make out the shaking of their shoulders in the darkness of the house. Watching this display, Sans couldn't help but feel guilty. At this moment, he couldn't imagine the inner turmoil the human that had loved making friends when they first fell down here had gone through to make them listen to the SOUL that had told them to kill Sans and his brother.

"…I… I keep s-seeing myself, Sans." They finally spoke, and Sans turned his head a bit to listen. "Again and again, s-stabbing everyone… you… Papyrus… Toriel… everyone." They covered their face, taking huge, jagged breaths as they tried and failed to calm themselves down, and Sans suddenly realized with alarm that the human might be having a panic attack.

"hey, hey. shhh. it's over, frisk. it's over. you're not doing that stuff anymore." He pulled the human close to him, wrapping them in a comforting hug- _but how comforting could it be, when he was one of the reasons for their fear?-_ and letting them cry onto his shoulder just like he had done for Papyrus when they were younger.

"I'm sorry, Sans." The human cried, pressing their forehead against Sans's shoulder. "I am so sorry."

"…i know, kid. i know." Sans murmured. "you RESET though, kid. even when you could've taken the easy way out and just given in. i'm proud of you, frisk."

"But… but what if I'm not strong enough?" Frisk wailed, pulling back from Sans as Sans saw their tears glint in the dim light offered by the glowing rocks outside. "Chara said… they said we were the same. They said I'd kill again, and they'll…they'll come back for me when I snap."

"you won't snap again." Sans said firmly. "ok? i'm here. i'll be watching you so you'll be fine, got it?"

"B-but-"

 _"_ _frisk._ you're going to be fine." Sans said, pulling the human back close so their head rested on his shoulder. He shifted, allowing the human to lay down on the sofa beside him, and smiled down at the child. "i'll watch over you while you sleep, ok? if you get a nightmare, i'll try and wake you back up. i promise."

Frisk sniffed, the small body quivering for a moment, and then they nodded, curling up into a small ball. Sans waited in the dark, and as he heard their breath deepen and their eyes drift shut, he sighed. What mess had the two of them fallen into?


	11. Chapter Eleven

Papyrus was surprised, to say the least, when he found Sans and the human asleep and leaning against each other on the couch that morning. His brother didn't open up to many people, after all. But Sans had covered for this human so earnestly that Papyrus had just went along with it. If this small human was so special to Sans, then Papyrus couldn't take that away from his brother.

Even if it made him wait a bit longer to gain his dream, it wouldn't be worth it if he hurt his brother in the meantime.

Papyrus studied the human, noticing the dried tear stains that marked their way down their cheeks. Papyrus wondered what they had been crying about. When he had first seen the child, sure, he had wanted to capture them for Undyne, but after seeing his brother's protective actions all Papyrus really wanted to do now was make the kid smile. They didn't smile and laugh as much as someone that small should, in Papyrus's opinion.

.

Frisk stirred, their neck aching and their eyelids feeling heavy as they yawned and stretched. They were slumped against something that felt suspiciously like… "Sans!" Frisk yelped in recognition, jerking away as flashes of memory raced through their mind.

A hand caught them, looping around their torso and pulling them back down. "five more minutes…" Grumbled the skeleton, eyes still tightly shut.

Frisk gazed back at him in dismay, their cheeks turning pink as the memories of last night came back. They had thought the worst of the panic attacks were over, after staying with Toriel for so long, but they had come racing straight back as Frisk saw more of the world they had nearly destroyed.

"OH! YOU'RE AWAKE, COUSIN!" Papyrus announced, poking his head into the room. He grinned at Frisk, and glanced at Sans in disapproval. "SORRY ABOUT HIM, BY THE WAY. HE TENDS TO OVERSLEEP OFTEN. DON'T WORRY THOUGH, HE'LL BE UP WHEN HE SMELLS THE DELICIOUS BREAKFAST I MADE!"

"…what is it?" Frisk asked, giving up under the heavy skeleton's arm and settling back down.

"SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL! …SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus announced, beaming with pride.

Frisk squinted at him, and wondered if the skeleton ever made anything other than pasta. Suddenly Sans eating out a lot made a lot more sense. "Leftovers?" They ventured quietly, and Papyrus scowled at them, although his sparkling eyes showed he was just teasing Frisk.

"LEFTOVERS? WHAT KIND OF PERSON SERVES HIS GUESTS LEFTOVERS? THESE ARE FRESH NOODLES! THE FINEST KIND!"

"….I see." Frisk said, deciding just to go along with Papyrus like usual.

Sans suddenly groaned, and pushed himself up into a sitting position, releasing Frisk as he rubbed at his eyes. "how are you two so noisy this early in the morning," he grunted. "it's not even noon yet."

"SANS, YOU LAZY BROTHER," Papyrus started. "GET UP ALREADY, WE HAVE IMPORTANT PLANS TO DO TODAY!"

Sans squinted at Papyrus, before Frisk and Sans glanced at each other in curious surprise. Neither remembered any important plans from Papyrus other than 'capture the human' that landed on this day.

"uhhh… what important plans are you talking about, paps?" Sans ventured, getting up and walking over to the kitchen.

Papyrus beamed down at them as Frisk joined Sans, hair sticking up in the back from their sleep. "WHY, WE HAVE TO SHOW OUR COUSIN ALL OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S PUZZLES! I'M SURE THEY'LL LOVE 'EM!"

Sans snickered, and then nudged Frisk with his elbow. "ok, sure. after breakfast we can go do that. i'll be, uh, guarding my sentry stations in the meantime."

"OH NO YOU DON'T SANS, YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO SNEAK OFF AND TAKE MORE NAPS."

Sans laughed, scratched his head, and shrugged. "man, you caught me again, papyrus."

"JEEZ, YOU'RE UNBELIEVABLE BROTHER." Papyrus complained, and then turned his gaze to Frisk. "ANYWAYS, COME EAT, COUSIN! WE HAVE A BIG DAY AHEAD OF US."

Frisk hesitatingly slid into a seat at the table, and tried to look like they were eating the inedible spaghetti placed in front of them while Sans sipped on what looked suspiciously like a glass of mustard. Papyrus kept talking cheerfully, heaping more and more spaghetti onto Frisk's plate as fast as Frisk could hide the pasta in their clothes.

After "breakfast" (Sans had slipped Frisk a hot dog that, although edible, was little better than the spaghetti) the three had ventured back out into the snowy forests surrounding the town. Frisk tried to quietly complete everything as fast as possible, still tired and not wanting to stay out in the cold, but Papyrus seemed persistent in his attempts to play with Frisk.

The trouble started when Frisk had stood beside Sans while tucking their hands into their sweater and staring listlessly down at their feet, they were startled enough to let out a squeak of protest when Papyrus raced up to them, picked them up and tossed them onto his back, before racing away with his prize. "NYEHEHE, SANS, BEFORE YOU RUB OFF WITH YOUR BAD HABITS ON THEM, OUR COUSIN IS GOING TO HAVE FUN WITH ME FOR NOW! CATCH US IF YOU CAN!" Frisk clung to the skeleton's neck in surprise, and they could see Sans startle, looking over at them in shock before starting to run after him as Papyrus skidded down a tall hill as he skated down expertly keeping his balance, snow flying up around them.

"h-hey! paps wait a moment don't do that!" The hefty skeleton tripped, face planting into the snow and starting to roll down the snowy hill as he gained speed. "h-hey! paps! a little help here!"

"NYEHEHE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO CATCH US LIKE THAT, SANS!"

"Papyrus, what are you doing?!" Frisk yelped, clinging to the taller skeleton tightly as they tried not to get flung off.

"HAVING FUN, OF COURSE!" Papyrus yelled over Sans's cursing as the other skeleton started to resemble a snowball.

"papyrus! i'm going… to get you for this!" Yelled Sans, the two skeleton's reaching the bottom of the hill at the same time. Sans's ball of snow exploded, snow scattering everywhere as the skeleton slid across the ice and lay on his back, puffing, as Papyrus zipped by him.

"BUT BROTHER, FIRST YOU HAVE TO CATCH US. RIGHT, COUSIN?"

Frisk couldn't help but start laughing at Sans's responding groan, a sound that seemed to delight Papyrus. Frisk wrapped their arms around Papyrus's neck for a snugger grip, and relaxed as Sans finally got back up and chased them around, but Frisk could tell Sans wasn't really angry.

Then Frisk's eyes dropped to the red scarf they were clinging to, and for a moment, Frisk's breath caught in their throat before they pushed the uneasiness away and tried to focus on the present.

.

Sans reached over and flicked the snow out of Frisk's hair. "hey, papyrus, we should head back. meat sacks need to be kept at warm temperatures."

Papyrus let out a muffled grunt from where Sans had used his blue magic to drop a ton of snow on him, burying the tall skeleton instantly after Sans had yanked Frisk out of the way, and wiggled his face out of the snow. "UH, A LITTLE HELP? BROTHER?" He asked hopefully, but Sans smirked at Papyrus instead and started walking away.

"c'mon, frisk. he'll get out eventually."

"OK." Frisk agreed, their eyelids drooping as they tried to stifle a yawn as they turned and followed the skeleton. Their clothes were soaked, and they couldn't help but remember the last time Papyrus found them out in the cold forest, all alone and sick… Frisk shivered, and suddenly a thick blue hoodie was tossed at their head.

"don't get sick on me, kiddo, paps really worried about you last time." Sans admonished, and Frisk gratefully pulled his jacket on.

The two walked side by side in the quiet lull of night- or, at least, Underground's night. The villager's had once again shut off their lights, the snow gleaming softly in the darkness. Behind them, Papyrus had managed to free himself up to his waist with a lot of squirming, and the two waited for him by the bridge to the village.

"hey, kid." Sans ventured as he gazed down at the forest far below the cliff. "this is kind of a random question, but… have you ever met a third skeleton?"

Frisk blinked, and then shook their head. "N-no… is there another skeleton here? I've never seen a skeleton other than you and Papyrus…"

"…no. there's just me and papyrus." Sans affirmed, his eyes flickering for a moment. "sorry. just a thought i had. ….forget i said that."

"Sans-"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LEFT ME," Papyrus whined, racing up behind them as he brushed the last of the snow off of his shoulders. "YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO GET SO MAD, BROTHER, I DIDN'T _PUSH_ YOU DOWN THAT HILL."  
"no, you made me chase you for _five hours_." Sans retorted, a small smile on his face as he squabbled with his brother. Frisk watched the two, and giggled again despite themselves. Both skeletons turned to look at them, their eyes glowing white in the darkness, and Sans grinned at Frisk. "hey, kiddo, you look positively bone tired. why don't we head home."

"M'kay." The human said tiredly, yawning.

They followed the brothers back to their house in the darkness, but when it came time for them to go to sleep, they lay in Sans's bed wondering if their nightmares would be quite so vivid that night. They rolled onto their other side, but the darkness suddenly felt suffocating, like they hadn't RESET and everyone outside of the door was still dead. Frisk felt sweat drip down their face, and they shivered, trying to squeeze their eyes shut and force the uneasiness to go away. So what if it was quiet, Frisk had been alone long enough to sleep alone at night by now, after all…

The door abruptly swung open, and Sans's bulky form stood in the doorway, a pillow tucked under his arm. "hey, kiddo." He greeted, and then sheepishly shrugged. "…you wanna come watch a movie with me downstairs? i made popcorn."

Frisk stared at him for a moment in surprise, then scrambled to their feet. "What… a movie?" Their voice shook a little, and Frisk hoped Sans didn't notice it even though they were certain he did.

"yeah. alphys lent it to me. wanna see?"

And even though Frisk fell asleep in the first few moments of the opening sequence, Sans didn't say anything about it but merely turned off the television, pulled the blanket over Frisk, and went to bed on the other side of the couch.

.

The next day, Papyrus insisted on introducing Frisk to Undyne.

The three of them stood in front of her house, and Frisk mentally prepared themselves, expecting to be attacked.

"Wha- oh. It's you." Undyne said, opening the door. "Papyrus, your lesson isn't until tomorrow, you know. If you came to bother me about letting you into the Royal Guard again, now is a bad time because I have a date- ahem, a _tactical meeting-_ scheduled with Alphys."

"ACTUALLY, I'M NOT HERE ABOUT JOINING THE ROYAL GUARD THIS TIME, UNDYNE!" Papyrus announced. "I CAME TO INTRODUCE MY COUSIN TO YOU!"

"Your… cousin?" Undyne glanced down at Frisk, confusion and then alarm flitting through her eyes. "Wait a minute, that's your cousin?!"

"yeah," Sans affirmed, closing one eye as he draped one arm around Frisk's neck. "we need to introduce them to alphys too, so maybe we could come with you to her lab?"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. That's clearly a human!" Undyne snapped, a blue spear appearing with a flare of light in her hand. "What are you two even talking about, we need to kill it right now!"

Papyrus jumped in front of Frisk immediately, arms outspread. "W-WAIT, UNDYNE! COME ON, THIS IS A MONSTER, CAN'T YOU TELL THAT? PLEASE, PUT THAT SPEAR AWAY."

"yeah, undyne, frisk is a they, not an it. don't be rude." Sans chimed in, and Frisk edged behind the skeleton as they guiltily remembered Undyne's last appearance, where Frisk had slain her not just once, but twice.

"…" Undyne stared down at Frisk, suspicion evident on her face, before her lip twitched and she let the spear vaporize into nothing. "…if you're _sure_ of this, you two." She growled, shooting an accusing gaze at Sans. "Don't forget we have six of seven SOULS, though. You wouldn't do anything to endanger that, right?"

"of course not."

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD NEVER!"

Still glaring at Frisk, Undyne motioned for the three to follow her as she started making her way towards the Hotlands. This time, Frisk noted she was not wearing any armor so even though she looked uncomfortable in the heat, Undyne was able to withstand it.

"What, are you just going to silently stare at me the whole time?" She snapped at Frisk, and Sans chuckled.

"actually, they're pretty shy. but don't be fooled, they're quite the troublemaker."

"…how did you get mixed up with this, anyways, Sans?" Undyne asked suspiciously, and Frisk glanced anxiously at Sans as they both knew Undyne wasn't buying the fib about Frisk's identity. The only thing preventing her from attacking at the moment was the two skeleton's protection.

"my cousin here wanted to come meet people in the towns, that's all." Sans said unconvincingly, grinning at Undyne. "it was such a shame that they were all alone and bonely so i just had to take them in."

"Hmph. Whatever you say."

The four arrived at the lab, and entered the air-conditioned building with varying amounts of relief. "O-oh. I-I wasn't expecting anyone other than Undyne!" A familiar small yellow monster appeared, tripping over her long lab coat and stumbling in front of the four.

"Sans! Papyrus! Welcome, what's the um, occasion?" Alphys caught sight of Frisk, and blinked in surprise. "Oh! You're the one that came out of the Ruins, the hum-"

"yes, this is our _humorous_ cousin." Sans interjected, winking at Frisk. "they wanted to come say hi, so here we are."

"O-oh. It's… it's nice to meet you, then. But I could have sworn…"

"HEY, ALPHYS, YOU PROMISED WE COULD CONTINUE YOUR SHOW LAST TIME WE ALL CAME OVER. I THINK FRISK'LL LOVE YOUR TELEVISION SHOWS AS WELL!" Papyrus announced, pushing Frisk forwards so they stumbled to a halt in front of Alphys.

Alphys blinked, then brightened up, her eyes shining as she turned towards Frisk. "D-do you like anime too, then?"

"Yeah," Frisk said, smiling at the monster as they felt Undyne's glare burning into their skull. At least Frisk hadn't met Alphys during _that_ run. She was one of the few monsters Frisk didn't feel guilty about just by seeing her face. "Sans showed me one of your movies last night."

"WHAT? WHEN DID YOU TWO WATCH A MOVIE WITHOUT ME?!" Papyrus complained.

"just after you went to bed. we didn't get too far though, i was pretty tired." Sans said, winking at Frisk. "right, kiddo?'

"R-really? You liked that?" Alphys asked in delight. "W-well, I just finished making popcorn, so why don't we all marathon a s-series together then?"

Frisk suddenly found themselves having a sleep over with Sans, Alphys, Papyrus, and Undyne, which was a daunting task in itself. It didn't help that Undyne would throw popcorn at the television whenever the bad guy had the upper hand (for some reason said bad guy was a giant killer robot that transformed into an idol to sing character songs every five minutes.) or that Alphys would yell excitedly whenever the main romantic interest made a move on the main character. Sans seemed to be watching silently, except when the bad guy was punched in the face and thrown several feet across the room, he got caught up in the excitement and yelled "geeeet dunked on!" while knocking the popcorn bowl with his hand so it fell upside down onto Frisk's head. Papyrus helped Frisk get the popcorn and butter out of their hair, but then cried over the ending because he was so happy with the conclusion.

After the series was over, Undyne challenged Frisk to arm wrestling, whom, to everyone's shock, managed to win five times out of five.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Undyne yelled. "YOU'RE CHEATING! THERE'S NO WAY SOMEONE THAT SMALL CAN BEAT ME!"

Frisk innocently shrugged. "All about timing, I guess?" They asked weakly, remembering the last time they beat Undyne.

"YOU LYING LITTLE-" Undyne started, but froze as a familiar voice piped up.

"HEY SANS, WHAT DOES HELL MEAN?" Papyrus asked curiously, and Sans nearly choked on the last of the popcorn he was eating.  
"what does- you misheard undyne! she said heck. she definitely meant heck." The skeleton narrowed his eyes across the room, and Undyne started sweating nervously under his accusing gaze.

"…shit- heeeeeey, I didn't m-mean it Sans! Uh, Sans? No wait-"

Frisk watched in surprised amusement as Sans promptly used his blue magic to slam Undyne across the room with a pillow, igniting a pillow fight when Papyrus grabbed another pillow and threw it at Frisk so hard they fell off of the chair.

And finally, after everyone had tired themselves out and collapsed in varying positions on the couch, with Undyne and Alphys leaning against each other, Papyrus sprawled out on the floor and Sans and Frisk sitting on the other side of the couch, Frisk could almost imagine they were where they had been after the first run, when everyone had been free and happy.

For once, no nightmares threatened to follow them as they fell asleep besides Sans, who watched the human for a moment before using his blue magic to turn out the light. It was good for the kid to have a breather, after all. If his suspicions were right, the kid might not have much more time before something bad happened again.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the fluff continues...?

When Frisk woke up, the lingering feeling of wary disappointment followed them. They knew that the next time Frisk went to sleep, the world would RESET. Frisk sighed and shifted, glancing around in confusion as they realized they were no longer in the lab, but in Sans's room instead. "Hello? Sans?" Frisk swung their feet out of bed, pulled their sweater on, and wandered downstairs, shivering in the cold climate ever present in Snowdin.

The silence in the house told Frisk no one was home. Confused, Frisk checked around the house, and finally found a note stuck to the fridge.

_kid, me and paps went out for a bit. you were still sleeping so we carried you back from alphys's lab, and left you here while we attended to business. i'll return for you before too long, so just, uh, enjoy yourself in the town. if you're hungry, there's always spaghetti in the fridge… or you could go to grillby's, i told 'em to put whatever you get on my tab. –sans_

Frisk tossed the letter down onto the table with a sigh and pondered if they should go walk around or just stay here and watch a television or read a book. Come to think of it, Frisk hadn't explored all of Sans's room yet despite temporarily living there. They hadn't wanted to push it with the skeleton being so wary of them, but if Sans wasn't here for a little bit, why not?

Frisk returned to Sans's room, and glanced around. They had come in here once, long ago, when they had been given Sans's key to his room after they had gotten the curious responses from him after using SAVE. It was odd, Frisk realized, that they hadn't realized the extent of what that interaction had implied about Sans. They had been thrown off from realizing the truth by his prank with the treadmill, but now Frisk knew better.

They crossed the room, and glanced at the dresser. The lamp had a flashlight in it in place of a bulb for unknown reasons, and as Frisk pulled open the drawers, a glint of a key caught their attention.

"What's this key for?" Frisk wondered, reaching inside and picking it up. It seemed like a fairly nondescript object, the small key faded and slightly dented, but Frisk couldn't help but wonder. Glancing around, Frisk started searching for a keyhole first in Sans's room, and then throughout the rest of the house.

Nothing.

Frisk felt slightly guilty by this point, so they returned the key back to its original position and flopped back onto the bed. It wasn't fair to pry into Sans's personal stuff, anyways.

Frisk's stomach growled, and they sat back up, realizing the last thing they had eaten was the popcorn Sans had knocked onto their head last night. Pulling on one of Sans's jackets he had told Frisk to use as needed, Frisk stepped out of the house and stood blinking in the snow, their breath collecting in front of their face in a small cloud of mist and the voices of cheerful villagers ringing out around them.

Frisk kept their face down, eyes forwards as they wandered towards Grillby's. Snatches of cheerful, happy conversations drifted towards them, but Frisk didn't bother going up and talking to anyone who didn't outright initiate a conversation. The memories of the silent town, fearful pleas, and stolen goods still lingered like a bad taste, and Frisk blinked away the memory as they paused in front of the large building. Staring up at the flickering sign, they reached out and pushed the door open, warm air greeting them as they thankfully walked in.

The inhabitants, all monsters who had been cleared out by Sans last time they came, paused for a moment to glance at Frisk curiously, but Frisk made a beeline for the counter instead. Sliding back into the same empty seat Frisk always seemed to use, they shifted and glanced uneasily around until their eyes met Grillby's who was washing plates in the back.

Grillby placed the last plate to the side and came over, waiting for Frisk to speak.

"Can I have French fries… please?" Frisk asked, wondering what the flame man thought of them. What had Sans told him? Grillby nodded, and left for a moment, returning with the food which he silently handed to Frisk.

The conversations started picking up again as Frisk quickly ate the hot food, tongue stinging from the hot food when they ate too fast. _I'm glad this turns straight into energy,_ Frisk thought blankly as they stared at the French fries. _Even though the food here would make me sick if it was human food, I've never felt ill from monster food. The taste is a bit weird, though, no matter how many times I try it._

"Did Sans tell you to put this on his tab?" Frisk asked, and the duck monster besides Grillby nodded and waved his wing.

"Yeah kid, don't worry 'bout it. We heard."

"O-oh. I see, great."

"Hey, you new 'round here? Folks rarely move into Snowdin 'cause of the snow and climate here."

Frisk fidgeted, uncomfortable, and nodded. "You could say that." _I've been here for quite a while, though…_

"Hmmm. Well, kid, don't catch a cold while you stay here, all right? Take care of yourself. And tell Sans hi for Grillby and everyone here."

"Okay. Thanks…" Frisk agreed. They turned, burying their hands into the jacket's pockets and started heading back to the house. It was harder to talk to people, but Frisk knew they had to get over this roadblock. Part of it was Frisk's shame and guilt, the human supposed as they crunched along the snow, but part of it was also apathy. Without Sans here, it was so very easy to slip right back into the same hopeless mindset that had started to eat away at Frisk, and they realized that they needed to see the skeleton again soon. He was proof that maybe, there was a happy ending to this. That Frisk wasn't alone.

The house came into view, and Frisk paused, gazing at it. It was their home for now, too, they supposed. Sans's mailbox had mail actually spilling out from it at this point, so Frisk walked over to bring it in.

They opened up the mailbox, and a pile of mail slid out into Frisk's arms. However, a gust of wind caught one of the envelopes, and it went racing away. "Oh, shoot!" Frisk exclaimed, starting to run after it while trying not to drop anything else.

Luckily, the wind blew it straight against the house where it lay there, pinned to the wall…

No, wait. This wasn't a wall.

It was a door, hidden with the same color of paint as the house's exterior.

"…? This is…" Frisk glanced around, then back at the hidden door. A small lock was visible, and Frisk couldn't get it open. "Wait a moment… a lock?"

They ran back inside, dumped the junk mail on the table, and raced up the stairs to grab the small key from Sans's room. With some quick fumbling, Frisk returned to the door and slipped it in the lock. The door activated with click, and the door slid up with a soft rasping sound.

Inside, the silence was absolute. And yet, Frisk could almost hear whispers echoing around them as they stepped inside, but it seemed to be just their imagination when they strained their ears to hear the whispers better only to once again hear silence. The turquoise walls and pink tiled floor wasn't anything impressive, and the room itself was also quite small. The air, however, seemed to carry an aura of sadness, of things that were meant to be yet never happened.

A blanket was covering a strange machine in the corner, but Frisk didn't have any idea what it was used for. Dust had gathered on it, and Frisk pulled back to look around again.

Troubled, Frisk wandered over to the counter, where sets of blueprints were resting. A machine was scribbled on them, the same one Frisk had just glanced at, and some strange writing covered the blue paper. Frisk was unable to read it, and pulled open one of the drawers.

A badge lay there, and Frisk hesitantly pulled it out and flipped it over.

**SANS/S01- LAB ASSISSTANT- CLEARANCE LEVEL 2**

Frisk frowned, the badge only having a picture of Sans in a white lab jacket with the words and a bar code beside the photo. Had Sans worked with Alphys before? He had never mentioned this.

Curiosity pulled Frisk to open the last drawer, but the contents this time were the most troubling thing in the room.

A photo album. Frisk hesitated once, and then opened it. There were pictures of Sans with different people. One was Sans standing next to another skeleton, a wide grin on his face.

But this skeleton wasn't Papyrus...

" _this is kind of a random question, but… have you ever met a third skeleton_?"

"What…?" Frisk murmured to themself, flipping through the rest. Most were humans, Frisk realized. All about their age. A girl with a tutu, a boy with a cowboy hat, a child wearing a bow grinning with Sans's arms around their shoulder. All of these, Frisk realized as their stomach churned, must have been RESET later on.

And finally, Frisk turned to the last page, and their own face stared back at them. Frisk and Sans were both grinning, looking happily up at the camera with everyone else surrounding them, the only photo of everyone out and free in the Overworld.

This one was also RESET, though. Frisk couldn't feel any better about their accomplishment now, after all.

"… i wasn't uh, planning to show you all of this, kid." A voice muttered from behind them, and Frisk nearly dropped the photo album as they spun around in surprise.

"Sans! You're… back…" Frisk said weakly, realizing they had been caught red handed. "I'm sorry, Sans, I just…"

"it's fine." Sans gazed wistfully around for a moment, but a frown appeared on his face when his gaze landed on the machine. "you uh, wanna go inside? i don't really come here that much anymore. too many bad memories."

"Sure."

Frisk placed the book back where they had found it and quietly followed Sans back into the house, where they sat down on the couch uncomfortably as Sans dug around the kitchen before returning with two cups of water. "here," he offered, holding it out to Frisk. He watched Frisk for a moment and then sighed. "so, what made you want to go digging around for skeletons in my closet?"

"….today's the last day I have here before RESET." Frisk said softly, and Sans studied them for a moment before also taking a seat on the sofa.

"…i see. feeling down?" He asked, and Frisk nodded. "well, uh, don't worry too much. just come back out of the ruins and we'll meet up again, no biggie. nothing will really have changed, kiddo."

"That's the problem!" Frisk shouted, but upon seeing Sans's pointed glance they wilted in on themselves. "….I'm tired of nothing changing, Sans. I want everyone to remember me. I don't like just saying 'oh well, it won't matter' and just accepting that everything is _fine_ this way."

"i never said you had to do that, frisk." Sans said softly, but Frisk shook their head in reply.

"But… _you're_ like that yourself, Sans. You've seen so many of these RESETS, so until I did something drastic, you behaved exactly like that. How long until I don't care at all anymore, Sans? Each RESET, I feel less and less like myself. I just feel numb. Sure, I can laugh these emotions away for a little bit, but when night falls, when I'm alone with my thoughts, they just…. _happen_."

Sans's gaze flickered, and he turned his head away from them. "do you know why i didn't believe you for so long, frisk? …it's not worth growing attached to anything when it can just be snatched away. not anymore, frisk. you just get tired of lost hopes and dreams that once happened. that's just what i believe, kiddo." He was silent, and then sighed. "we'll try and work this out, okay? before this happens to you. i was alone, frisk… but you're not. i'm not going anywhere, and we haven't even tried anything together yet. so just… bear with me, here."

"…OK." Frisk agreed softly, and Sans nodded at them.

"welp, papyrus should be home any second. i went out and found a board game in the garbage pile so… up for some monopoly? it's missing some pieces but we can just use pap's action figures instead."

"All right," Frisk said, and they tried to force their mind off of the heavy feelings that had filled their soul a moment ago. "I'm coming."

.

"you ready?"

"Not really an option here, is there?" Frisk replied sleepily, the two sitting on the sofa. "The RESET'S coming whether I like it or not."

"so have you tried staying awake?" Sans asked in the darkness, but Frisk scowled and shrugged their shoulders helplessly.

"I did at Toriel's. It RESET anyways, at about midnight, though."

"got it. well, try and focus. see if you can spot the option's screen at all, see what's going on here," Sans advised, and Frisk yawned before nodding.

"I'll try… hey, Sans?"

"what?"

"You'll be waiting for me, right?"

"…of course, kiddo. see you soon."

And Frisk fell asleep, their eyes sliding shut as Sans waited for the inevitable moment where he wakes up to the smell of burning spaghetti.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

RESETTING was like diving into the deep end of a dark abyss, and falling until you couldn't tell which way was up. Frisk usually was swamped by the darkness, their small SOUL the only thing they could make out in the pitch-black inkiness that enveloped them until they woke up, a small flickering red light of comfort, but this time was different. Instead of drowning in the darkness, Frisk tried to swim. They reached their arm out, past the small circle of light their SOUL provided and into the darkness.

Surprisingly, Frisk realized that as soon as they tried to reach out, they stopped feeling as though they were falling. frisk hesitantly tried to set their legs down and stand, but they could barely manage to stand on their shaking legs. Frisk's breaths were the only sound in this space, and they could feel their body start to grow heavier as time, the only constant in this strange area, moved forwards. Frisk knew it was only a matter of time before they sunk through the floor and woke up again, the RESET completed.

"Where do I go?" Frisk asked, their voice muffled in the strange setting. This place was creepy... it was almost like a void of nothingness. As if in response, whispers started to drift up around them, chillingly familiar yet very foreign.

 _Don't give up, Frisk! Stay DETERMINED…_ One whispered, close to Frisk's ear.

Frisk jerked around, flailing as the pressure on their body increased and they sunk ankle deep into the floor.

"W-Who's there?!" Frisk yelled, but the whispers weren't interested in giving answers.

 _Keep going, you're almost there!_ Another one whispered, and Frisk shivered before turning back and trying to run forwards, yanking their feet out of the tar black floor as they started sinking in deeper. Soon it reached their waist, and Frisk had to wade through the strange substance as they tried not to panic. The light from their red SOUL was the only company Frisk had, and they almost wished they would just give up and let this bizarre experience be done, over with, and forgotten.

And then, suddenly, a faint white glow could be seen up ahead. Frisk splashed towards it in desperation, and finally, they were able to see it. This was what they must have been looking for this entire time.

**RESET / QUIT**

"Just a bit more…" Frisk gasped, the blackness swirling up to around their shoulders. They reached out, trying to touch the QUIT option, but suddenly the entire screen started wavering in the air, lines of numbers and letters appearing in strips across it as parts of it blinked in and out of focus. Frisk's hand went right through the screen, unable to activate anything, unable to touch anything, unable to fix everything even though the answer was right in front of their eyes, and suddenly the darkness rose to Frisk's mouth, a strange substance that wasn't slimy or cold… just numbing.

Frisk jerked their head up and took a deep mouthful as air as they started to get swallowed up again by the darkness, when suddenly a voice, much clearer than the whispers from before, spoke in their ear.

_[You're not allowed to QUIT just yet, Frisk.]_

Frisk floundered about, trying to wrench their head around to see who had spoken, but it was too late- Frisk was swallowed up whole by the darkness.

.

Frisk jerked awake with a gasp, eyes snapping open as they sat up. The golden flowers once again surrounded their body, and Frisk shuddered for a moment as they recalled the feeling of absolute nothingness in the place they had been.

"Who was that…?" Frisk wondered, but their memory of the voice now seemed elusive, like they should recognize who the speaker was but now just couldn't remember.

Frisk sighed, blinked once more, rubbed their eyes, and finally they stood up. They didn't want to keep Sans waiting, after all.

.

Sans was waiting right outside of the Ruins' door, hands stuffed into his pockets as he stood in plain sight. "hey, glad to see ya again, kiddo," he greeted. "miss me?"

"Yes," Frisk answered. They ran to him, and although he didn't return the hug frisk gave him, he didn't push Frisk away, either. "That was… awful."

Sans's grin didn't move, but by now Frisk knew by the narrowing of his eyes he wasn't pleased as he glanced down at them after Frisk released him and stepped back. "…what happened? did you find something?"

"I… I don't know. There was… this voice, but I d-don't remember it clearly." Frisk looked away and rubbed their arm. "I tried to touch the QUIT option, but my arm went right... right through."

"...that's too bad. would've been nice if there was an easy fix to this like that, but i knew it was wishful thinking." Sans said with a small grimace. He glanced down at Frisk before grinning reassuringly at them and messing up their hair with his hand. "hey, lighten up kiddo, it's all right. how about we walk through the underground together? maybe having a day on the surface again would shed some _light_ on things, or maybe something we missed down here."

Frisk knew Sans was putting on a front so they wouldn't feel so bad, so they weakly grinned and nodded at him. Sans motioned for them to follow him, and the two set off into the snow.

.

"SANS, THERE YOU ARE, YOU LAZY BROTHER! YOUR PUZZLES HAVEN'T BEEN RECALIBRATED YET! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU… UHHHH…. SANS… IS THAT… A HUMAN?"

Sans stared at Papyrus for a moment as Frisk clung to his side, grasping at his jacket's sleeve like a lost child. Technically, that was exactly what Frisk was. "yep," Sans finally agreed.

Papyrus's eyes bulged, and his jaw dropped open. "OH MY GOD SANS, YOU CAUGHT A HUMAN?! HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO… WHERE DID YOU… WOWEE, YOU'RE AMAZING BROTHER!"

"hehe, it was nothin'." Sans said with a grin. "After all, i could feel the presence of the human in my bones." He winked at Papyrus, whose eyes narrowed but the grin remained plastered on his face.

"SERIOUSLY, BROTHER? NOW? WHATEVER, I'M TOO EXCITED TO BE MAD AT YOU. NOW, WE HAVE TO TURN THIS HUMAN IN TO UNDYNE!" Papyrus proclaimed. "THEN I'LL FINALLY BE POPULAR! EVERYONE WILL BE SO PROUD OF ME AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU SANS! WOWEE, YOU'RE SUCH A GREAT BROTHER!"

"uh… yeah, that's… not going to happen." Sans commented.

Papyrus snapped out of his daydreams, brow furrowing as he examined his older brother. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NOT HAPPENING,' SANS, LOOK, THE HUMAN IS RIGHT THERE."

"they said they saw you around and were too nervous to do this before, but they really want to see your puzzles before you had to take them away." Sans remarked, and instantly Papyrus's expression lit up. "so, uh, we can't take them to undyne just yet."

"OH! WELL, IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS COULDN'T DENY THEM THAT… I'LL GO READY THE PUZZLES, SANS, MAKE SURE THEY DON'T SNEAK OFF!" Papyrus shouted, before turning and dashing into the deeper areas of the snowy forest.

"…heh. that went well." Sans turned and grinned at Frisk. "ready to do your stuff, kiddo?"

Frisk also gave a small smile up at Sans as they turned to look in the direction Papyrus had run. "Yeah." They were quiet for a moment before hesitantly speaking up again. "...I'll be really nice to Papyrus, so don't worry. Are you going to go ahead to all of your stations again and watch me from there?"

"nah. i'll walk with you for now. when you face paps, i'll be watching from the shadows, just… just in case."

"Okay. Let's go, then! We'll solve this thing, right Sans?" Frisk asked, brushing off the quiet reminder and trying to focus on the task at hand. Besides, the fact that Sans was keeping them company was great, and the idea that he would allow them to interact with Papyrus as they did signified that maybe the skeleton was forgiving Frisk... even if it was just a little bit. "We can solve this," Frisk repeated firmly.

"yeah, kiddo. everything'll be fine so long as you just keep that attitude."

.

And at first, it worked.

The soft echoes and sounds of rushing water echoed around them, and Frisk felt at peace. They had always liked Waterfall because of the quiet somberness that rested in every corner, a comforting lullaby of things from long ago. Frisk yawned and rubbed at their eyes, eyes slipping shut as they leaned against the cave's rough wall.

A shadow appeared over their face, darkening the soft skin-colored hue of their eyelids, and Frisk abruptly snapped awake with a start.

"here, kiddo, it's raining up ahead," Sans said with a grin, holding out an extra umbrella for them.

"I could've gotten one myself," Frisk replied with a soft smile. They pushed themselves to their feet, eyes turning to the statue that sat crouched in the soft light. "Just leave my umbrella with that statue, though... I can just share yours."

Sans glanced at Frisk for a moment, and then shrugged and rested the umbrella over the statue as a soft tune started drifting down the corridor. He turned back and studied Frisk, eye sockets softening. "…you really don't change, do you kid?"

"If only I didn't change at all," Frisk said simply, brushing off their hands on their pants. The two set off again, and soon Monster Kid joined the two to walk with them while they all huddled underneath the umbrella.

"I think this is my favorite view of the Underground," Frisk said quietly as they splashed through the puddles and gazed out at the castle. The crystals glimmering far above lit up the place with a blue hue, and Frisk sighed. "…I wouldn't mind staying in the Underground, you know? I just want to stay with everyone as time moves forwards."

"yep." Sans reached over and rustled Frisk's hair, an affectionate gesture Frisk was quickly learning was a common occurrence for skeleton's that lacked hair of their own. "me too, kiddo. me too."

"What are you guys talking about?" The Monster Kid piped up, running back up to them from where he had been standing. "Come on, you two wanted to see Undyne as well, right?"

Sans glanced at the rock ledge in front of the trio and shrugged. "welp, see, the problem is that there's a blockage here. frisk, get on my shoulders and i'll boost you up and go around. sorry kid," he added with a smile at the Monster Kid. "it's dangerous for ya to climb all over me without, uh, arms. want to try going around with me?"

Frisk scrambled up onto San's shoulders as the skeleton steadied them, careful not to kick Sans in the face, before turning back to watch Sans lead the Monster Kid away. As he vanished into the darkness, Frisk saw him turn and mouth 'good luck' to them before he went to go find one of his shortcuts.

.

After fleeing from Undyne, Frisk woke up with a sore groan and sat up, staring down at the bed of golden flowers.

"Haha… what are you guys going here? Lost, like me?" Frisk wondered before moving alone in the dark corridors. Frisk shivered, wondering where Sans was, when suddenly a timid voice spoke up.

"um… I was told you were here to visit me… is that true…?" The watery voice asked, and Frisk jumped only to see Napstablook watching them from behind a pile of trash.

Frisk grinned in delight, relieved. "Oh! Napstablook! Yes, I came here looking just for you! ...My friend said your house was here and we never got to hang out in the Ruins, so I wanted to come say hello, if that's okay."

"w-wow… really? then, my house is this way… if you still want to come…"

Frisk followed the ghost, past the silent dummy that this time didn't budge even though Frisk could feel a gaze on their back. As they exited the trash pile and blinked as their vision adjusted to the different lighting, they grinned as they saw a familiar skeleton waiting for them, hands stuffed in his pockets as he leisurely leaned up against a wall.

"Hey, Napstablook, can I invite my friend to hang out with us too?" Frisk asked hopefully.

Napstablook turned and blinked. "oh… I don't know if he'll want to hang out with me though…"

"Of course he would, Napstablook! You're a really cool friend, he'll love you!" Frisk urged, before turning back to the skeleton.

"Sans!" Frisk called, waving. The skeleton opened one eye and nodded at them, and Frisk cupped their hands around their mouth. "Want to hang out with us?"

The skeleton lifted his head and he nodded at Frisk, flashing them a thumbs up.

Frisk smiled gently at Napstablook and started walking towards their house. "There, see?"

"…thank you," Napstablook said softly, then moved past Frisk as they hovered in the air. They glanced away from Frisk and a soft white blush could be seen on their face. "…you seem like a really nice person, frisk. please, call me blooky… all my best friends do…"

Frisk's smile faltered for a moment before they pushed past the dark feelings that fluttered in their stomach. The crimes Frisk had committed…. They had to put it behind them. Even if they never forgot them, maybe they should try and forgive themselves. If Sans could have forgiven them, even a little… then surely Frisk could give themselves a small bit of forgiveness as well.

.

The kid was trying, Sans had to give them that.

"hmm hmm hmm," Frisk hummed, and Shyren hesitantly hummed back, turning to face the small being who was being so kind to her. "hmm hmm hmmmm."

"hummm hummm…" Shyren hummed back, hesitantly approaching Frisk as she examined the human before starting to hum and sing beside them.

Sans chuckled, and pulled out a wad of paper before scribbling on the paper "CONCERT-5,000 G" and watching for any suckers- ahem, _customers_ \- to try and sell the tickets to. Out of the corner of his vision, Sans spotted Napstablook peeking out from around the corner and waved him over.

"heyyy, concert tickets, 5,000 G. but, let's see, for you, I'll make it 5 G since you're a pal of the performers. what do you say?"

"oh… i… um… don't have any money…" Napstablook stuttered, their eyes starting to water. "u-um… should i not listen?"

"wha- no, no! it was a joke, just a joke, c'mon don't cry." Sans said, reaching out to pat Napstablook before remembering they were a ghost. "look, you can just have the ticket, okay? as a friend. no payment necessary."

"oh… thank you…"

"no problemo. …hey, i see someone else, go enjoy the show, i need to get rid of the rest of these paper slips," Sans called, already lumbering away as he caught view of the monsters peering around the corners, intrigued by the rare occurrence of Shyren's singing.

As he hurried off, a wry smile touched Sans's lips. So long as he did this, Frisk wouldn't guess he was just screening monsters so only the friendly ones could come near Frisk when their guard was down. Frisk didn't need to know Sans was that over protective, already, after all.

Sans sighed, shaking his head. _what a big softie_ , he thought in amusement. _who knew i would care so much about that darn kid._

_...i hope i'm right about them this time._


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Everything was going well, Frisk thought with surprise. Now with Sans walking beside them and slipping away for only boss fights to wait in the next corridor, Frisk felt safe. Protected.

With Sans by Frisk's side, monsters trusted Frisk easily. Even Undyne, the usual standoffish warrior, was willing to give Frisk a chance from the very start.

"…Here," Frisk offered sheepishly. "Do you want some water?"

"…" Undyne weakly accepted Frisk's water and sat up, sweat dripping down her face. She gazed down at Frisk, face serious, when another voice popped up from behind her.

"water you waiting for? thank the kid," Sans commented, finally getting up from the spot where he had been sleeping at his station during Frisk's dash to escape Undyne's wrath.

"…? You… What are _you_ doing out in the Hotlands?" Undyne grunted. "You belong in Snowdin!"

Sans scratched his head and closed one eye. "well, uh, i decided to accompany my friend here through the underground. there are some, uh, pretty scary monsters around here y'know?"

"…first Papyrus… and now you?" Undyne muttered to herself, and then growled. "Augh, whatever! I don't get this! Papyrus is so nice, I'd get how he could make friends with a human. But _you?_ Since when were you willing to go out of your way like this?!"

"…heh. what can i say, the kid grew on me," Sans said with a nonchalant shrug. "you should really give them a chance, undyne."

"That's… ugh. Whatever, I'm going back to someplace without this god-forsaken heat." Undyne snapped, stomping back the way she had come in her heavy suit of armor. Her gaze lingered on Frisk for a brief, contemplative moment, and then she was gone.

Sans and Frisk glanced at each other and Sans gave Frisk a thumbs up. "i think that went well, don't you?"

.

"I d-didn't expect you to show up so soon though! I haven't showered! I'm barely dressed, it's all messy, and…" Alphys stammered, fidgeting with her jacket. "B-but… maybe that's to be expected b-because Sans is helping you?" She glanced at the skeleton, whom grinned at her over Frisk's head.

"I'm Dr. Alphys. I'm Asgore's royal scientist… B-b-but, ahhh, I'm not one of the bad guys! A-actually, since you stepped out of the Ruins, I've been, um… been "observing" your journey through my counsel. T-the camera didn't p-pick up your conversations though! They don't have good quality audio…" Alphys stammered, sweating nervously as Sans's gaze bore into her. "A-anyways, I uh, I w-was originally going stop you but I, uh…" Alphys sneaked a glance at Sans again and her gaze darted away. "Watching someone on s screen really makes your root for them. A-and, y-you're not a b-bad person. I s-saw what you've been doing, a-and if Sans trusts you this much, t-then…! I want to help you t-too!"

"Thank you, Alphys," Frisk said with a smile. "I'm Frisk… but maybe you knew that?" Frisk didn't explicitly tell Sans, but they were trying to introduce themself by name now. They were tired of being mistaken as… well. Chara, for one. Sans had also understood Frisk's silent request, introducing Frisk by name to any monsters they met, as seen as when Napstablook found Frisk and already knew their name.

"U-uh…. Yeah." Alphys stuttered. "Using my knowledge, I can easily guide you through the Hotlands. No problems! Except… Well, actually, um, there's just a tiny issue."

"A small issue?" Frisk asked, sneaking a glance at the wall in between them.

"Y-yeah. Sans, do you know of the robot I made named Mettaton?"

"of course," the skeleton mumbled, glancing around the lab wearily, eyes flickering. "paps and i watch him all the time on the television. not that many performers down here, after all."

"yes, well, originally, I built him to be an entertainment robot. Uh, you know, like a robotic TV star or something." Alphys admitted, her yellow face flushing pink. "Anyways, recently I decided to make him more useful. You know, j-just some small practical adjustments. Like, um…"

Frisk wondered if Sans would get a kick out of seeing the Mettaton showdown for the first time. (Unless, of course, Sans had been one of the viewers on television at that point. Actually, scratch that, Frisk was sure he had watched them face Mettaton.)

"…Anti-antihuman combat features?"

Sans leaned down and muttered to Frisk, "welp. here's one perk to tagging along with you: that robot's hilarious. me and paps are, uh, nuts and bolts about that show. and i get front row seats this time."

Frisk rolled their eyes just as Mettaton burst in through the wall.

.

* * *

YOU HAVE BEEN ADDED TO [[GROUP CHAT]] BY SANS.

SANS updated status.

*a steak pun is a rare medium well done

* * *

"…Sans?"

"yeah?"

"What is this?"

"hey, you have a phone now, so why not?"

"…"

* * *

PAPYRUS updated status.

*SANS. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO SEND ME PUNS.

* * *

ALPHYS updated status.

*Sans you are interrupting my anime, I am currently on Mew Mew Kissy Cutie's finale and my phone keeps buzzing! :[

* * *

SANS updated status.

*hey, can't help it. don't my puns just tickle your funny bone?

* * *

PAPYRUS updated status.

*NGHHHHHAHHHHH!

* * *

Although it was humorous at first, Frisk quickly grew to realize the hazards of being in a group chat with Sans around the thirtieth pun and an escalating argument between the two skeletons. Frisk's phone started blowing up, and it was only Papyrus's group addition of Undyne whom shut them up after threatening that she would personally come hit everyone involved who was blowing up her phone.

.

"the dog was a bomb, oh man," wheezed Sans, wiping at his eye socket. "that's a classic. gets me every time."

"Sans! I could possibly get killed over here!" Frisk complained, diving at the water glass but missing and face planting into the dirt. They spat out some dirt and sat up, glowering at the water glass. "You haven't been helping for _any_ of the puzzles!"

"pfffffft," Sans snickered. "c'mon kid, you gotta admit it's a great joke. besides, the robot's harmless. his bolts are much louder than his bite. you don't need my help for this, kiddo."

Frisk shook their head good-naturedly and then yelped as the glass of water whizzed between their feet, speeding away.

.

"W-wait…" Alphys stammered, and Frisk paused, Sans continuing forwards and pausing to wait by the elevator. "…F-frisk," She added, stumbling over their name. She glanced away and rubbed her arm. "Would it be so bad if you d-didn't leave the Underground?"

"…"

"Haa. W-well, I can't s-stop you, b-but I hope that whatever you decide in t-the end it works out, Frisk…" Alphys gazed at them sadly before she turned away. "And t-take care of Sans, okay? He's been through a lot."

Frisk watched her leave and cocked their head to the side. _What did Alphys mean by that?_ They wondered curiously. Did Alphys know Sans remembered RESETS? Or did this have to do with the lab badge Frisk had found in Sans's garage? At least the good side of these RESETS was Frisk was getting to know, little by little, all the different feelings of their friends.

.

"Hehehe. You _idiot,_ going around and making friends." Flowey sneered, holding the captive monsters high. "Who did you think you were trying to fool? No one can possibly be this nice just because of their personality!" Flowey grinned at Frisk, eyes glinting. "And while you were busy having your little pow-wow, I took the human SOULS! And now, not only are those under my power, but all your friend's SOULS are mine, too!"

Frisk clutched the frying pan tighter, silent as they waited for Flowey to attack. Knowing that they had to fight, Frisk had picked up the frying pan, unwilling to touch the blade offered to them along with the heart locket. They knew Sans didn't like them near knives anymore, after all. Of course, they didn't like the feeling of knives anymore themself.

"But, boy! I was sure surprised! To think you managed to move everyone's heart to this extent in one go!" Flowey laughed. "Hee hee hee. And the best part is, it's all your fault! Without any help from me, you made them love you! All the time you spent listening to them… encouraging them… caring about them… without that, they wouldn't be here! And now, with their SOULS and the humans' together… I will achieve my real form… hee hee."

Frisk looked up at Sans, whose pupils were dim. And, even though Frisk was aware it would all RESET, they hated seeing this. they hated seeing their friends in pain. "Let them go! Why can't you just leave them be?" Frisk asked.

"Why…?" Flowey repeated, mystified. "You _stole_ my SAVE files and yet you haven't used them! Not once! I'm not letting you just leave like this! You're going to use those files, and stay here, with me. This is supposed to just be a _game_ , you know? And you can't just break the rules like this." Flowey smiled, and then whispered. "…You... I'll keep you here, no matter what."

Frisk's red SOUL was immediately surrounded by bullets, and Frisk covered their head as they spiraled closer, keeping Frisk trapped. "…so I'll teach you how to use your RESETS now!" Flowey snickered, bullets whizzing at Frisk and leaving trails of bloody scratches wherever they glanced off of their body. Frisk shrank in on themself, trying to stay as far away from the danger as they could.

And then flames surrounded Frisk, and they were safe again.

"…What?"

"Do not be afraid, Frisk," Toriel said calmly, turning her gaze to the human whom had ventured into her home and told her their name with a sad smile. "No matter what happens, we will always be there to protect you."

Flowey growled and attacked Frisk again, but Undyne and Papyrus coordinated their SOULS to fend off Flowey's attack.

"NO! WE WILL STAND BY THE HUMAN! YOU CAN WIN, FRISK! JUST DO AS I WOULD DO… BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! I KNOW I DO!" Papyrus yelled.

"Come on, human, you can't give up this quickly!" Undyne added, eyes flashing in a wordless challenge. "If you got past me, you can do anything… right, Frisk? We're with you all the way!"

"…frisk…" Sans grunted, one eye opening. "….go get 'em, kiddo."

"I- I don't understand. Who is Frisk? What are you doing?!" Flowey snapped. "Chara, that's not funny to try and play a different game than me!"

Frisk flinched, but kept their gaze firm. Taking a deep breath, they flashed Sans a thumbs up, and faced forwards just as Flowey started to absorb all of the SOULS and change shape.

Frisk, faced with a being that could bend the rules of this world, clutched the heart pendent close and lifted their head as they smiled. After everyone had called their name like that, Frisk felt like they were strong enough to do anything.

.

"Hey… did you know what the skeleton used as a xylophone? His rib cage!" Frisk shouted, and then blushed and covered their face with one sleeve. "…oh man, that was bad."

The LOST SOUL, however, seemed to love it, while the other one seemed to hate it.

"I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN!"

"just give up. i did." The LOST SOUL said softly, arms stuffed in its pockets.

"why even try?"

"THEN EVERYONE WILL-"

"you'll never see 'em again."

"…"

Frisk closed their eys for a moment before taking a deep breath and opening their eyes again, vision blurry and shook their head slowly. "You should know better than that, Sans," they said, and Frisk reached out and SAVED him and Papyrus once again. "…We can't give up here, after all, right? We have to keep trying."

.

Everyone left the Underground, and Frisk silently watched the sun standing between Toriel and Sans. And after Papyrus ran off, Sans pulled Frisk by the hand and ran after him together, the two using a shortcut after Sans promised Toriel he'd have her new kid home before it got dark.

The three of them, laughing at puzzles, and the two of them, Sans holding Frisk as they struggled not to fall asleep as night fell.

And the world RESET.

Sans started telling Frisk jokes, one per run, creating new jokes that Frisk hadn't heard dozens of times before. Each time, Frisk laughed and eventually, they started joking back.

Sans seemed to be quite proud whenever Frisk thought of a pun just as bad as his own.

And the world RESET.

Frisk tried to fix the same grin Sans had on their own face, and jokingly started telling just as many puns to Papyrus's horror as they tried to ignore the pressure they felt building in their chest.

And the world RESET.

Frisk could feel a gaze on them whenever they woke up in the bed of golden flowers… and yet Chara remained quiet. Frisk wondered if they would ever see the angry SOUL again.

And the world RESET.

"kid, it's okay. just breathe, i'm here, you didn't hurt anyone. you haven't hurt anyone in a long time, frisk. it's not dust from… from that, it's just from a fire, kid, it's okay…frisk?! oh man, hold on, i'll get a trash can, just don't move…"

And the world RESET.

"THE TRUTH IS… I DON'T HAVE MANY FRIENDS. I JUST HAVE SANS AND UNDYNE… I WONDER WHY…?" Papyrus glanced away, and Frisk reached out.

"Well, I'll be your friend," they said sincerely, aware of Sans's gaze on their back. "I'm also alone here, after all… I've only got you and Sans in the Underground."

"WHA… HAHA, THANK YOU, TINY HUMAN. THE GREAT PAPYRUS UNDERSTANDS, YOU MUST ALSO FEEL LONELY! I WILL BE YOUR FRIEND… ALTHOUGH DOES THIS MEAN I WAS FRIENDZONED ALREADY, FRISK?" Papyrus wiped at his face and smiled sadly down at Frisk.

Frisk blinked and shook their head, remembering something important. They hadn't told anyone in this run their name yet. I _see why Sans was worried,_ Frisk realized."…I didn't think I told you my name," they said softly. "Where did you learn it from?"

Papyrus froze, a troubled expression flitting across his face before he brightened up and hit his other hand with his fist. "OH, I KNOW! …I THINK IT WAS IN A DREAM. A REALLY NICE DREAM, WHERE SANS INTRODUCED YOU AS OUR COUSIN TO ME! I KNEW YOU WERE A HUMAN ALL ALONG THOUGH, NYEHEHE. ACTUALLY, I'VE HAD A WHOLE LOT OF DREAMS ABOUT HUMANS EVER SINCE I JOINED THE ROYAL GUARD... ONE HUMAN WORE A REALLY CUTE APRON..."

Frisk glanced at Papyrus from the corner of their eye, but the skeleton wasn't looking at them anymore, caught up in talking all about his dream journal.

And the world RESET.

"You should watch out, you two," The River Person advised as they drifted down the river. "When one discovers the answers to the questions, they don't always like what they find."

Sans and Frisk glanced at each other, before Sans leaned over and whispered a joke in Frisk's ear and they quietly laughed.

And the world RESET.

And there was nothing, nothing, nothing found. Frisk wanted to scream in frustration because _why couldn't they find anything?_ The only thing Frisk knew was that the whispers were getting louder each RESET, but they didn't tell Frisk anything. All they could hear was _don't give up_ whispered to them each time they fell into darkness.

They wanted answers already.

The cheerful demeanor Frisk had managed to uphold started to wear thin again, and Sans started to watch them more closely than before. Even though he didn't say anything, Frisk knew that Sans was afraid of them.

No, perhaps that wasn't right. Sans was afraid _for_ them. He thought they were going to start behaving rashly and hurt themself to a point were a RESET wouldn't fix all the damage done to their SOUL.

Well if they were that fragile, then why not just leave them be? Frisk started trying different things each run. They stayed at Sans's house half the time, completed the timeline a quarter of the time, and wandered around or stayed with Toriel for the rest.

But the monotonous days filled Frisk with a lethargic feeling during the day that made them want to just sleep all the time. During the night, however…. Nightmares of what once was returned to Frisk, try as they might, and they still couldn't shake Chara's memory off of them. At least that part of their life was over, though.

Or so Frisk had thought.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm a nice person.  
> ...I just like having a bad time once in a while? heh.

Frisk ran, ran and ran and ran, not daring to look back at the trail of dust they left behind. Every which way they turned, flashes of dust appeared, and the Underground was suddenly so quiet and the only sound Frisk could hear was the echoing whisper of their breaths. There was no one else here. Just Frisk and...

 **"** **Wow. You're looking quite tired, huh?"** A voice asked, and Frisk jumped, spinning around as they clutched their crossed arms tight, pulling their body inwards onto itself as they tried to appear smaller. After all of those RESETS, Frisk had been sure Chara intended to stay away until Frisk messed up again. Frisk shuddered and glanced around, their breaths speeding up as they flinched at the smallest of sounds. **"…You can't see me, Frisk. Haven't we covered that before?"**

"…Chara." Frisk muttered, testing the name out again, tasting the way it rolled off of their tongue. "…W-Why are you here? I haven't killed anyone. Go fish," they added, Sans's influence having rubbed off on them. When you were scared, when you were angry or sad, it felt better to joke about it, to stuff your emotions under the carpet and pretend until eventually... that façade wasn't make believe anymore. Frisk had taken this lesson to heart.

 **"** **I'm aware. You've been quite the disappointment in that aspect,"** Chara retorted. **"So, how are those RESETS working for you? This is your… 164** **th** **run, right? Congratulations on breaking a hundred and fifty. Too bad you hadn't killed anyone then, I could've thrown a party."**

"Go away. I don't need to hear this from you." Frisk muttered, tired. "Unless you have some important information I need to know, I don't want to hear you anymore. I'm still having nightmares over the last time I listened to _you_. You can't control my body anymore, and you can't control me, so there's no point in you staying!"

**"** **Hehehe. That was your own conclusion, though, wasn't it? I never explicitly said that was how it worked."**

"…what do you mean?"

**"** **Tell me, Frisk… did you know you're currently asleep?"**

"What?" Frisk glanced around again, eyes widening as they realized that despite wandering through the snow, Frisk could feel no chill in the air and their clothes remained warm and dry. "W-what… how…?" Frisk asked, dazed.

 **"** **Consider this my nudge back in the right direction for you. A gift, you might call it,"** Chara sneered, and Frisk took a step backwards, heart hammering.

"Chara, what did you do?! What do you mean by that?!"  
 **"Why don't you wake up and see? I'll be waiting for your invitation, Frisk."** Frisk's eyes widened, and they backed up, turning to run and vanish into the darkness of the dream. Chara giggled and turned back to vanish once again. They had a time limit until Frisk woke up, after all. **"Oh, Frisk. Surely you'll see reason once that pathetic comedian is out of the picture. …hehe. I can't believe they thought I would just leave them be after everything we've been through together."**

.

Sans wasn't surprised when his door once again swung open, and a small figure walked out. Frisk hadn't made it through that many nights alone, after all.

Sans shifted over to open up Frisk's usual spot on the sofa, and was about to call out to them when he paused. Something was off here. Frisk… wasn't behaving right. They were glancing around, and didn't seem to notice Sans in the dark as they sneaked past the couch and slipped into the kitchen.

 _…_ _? they know i sleep here, what are they…?_ Sans rose to his feet, suddenly uneasy. He slinked after them, and saw Frisk standing in the kitchen, leaning over something.

"…kiddo? what, are you hungry or somethin'?" Sans asked, reaching over and flicking on the light.

Frisk jerked and spun around, a flash of metal clutched in their hands. Sans felt a bead of sweat form on his temple, and his gaze locked onto Frisk's face- no, that wasn't right. The human's face was different. Their pupils blazed red, as red as their SOUL, and a grin stretched across Frisk's face without a trace of sanity. "wha-…chara, i assume then," Sans said grimly, shifting his feet into a stance ready for a fight.

 ** _"_** ** _hehe."_** The human snickered, gazing down at the knife clutched in their hands and then lifting their gaze up to meet Sans's eyes. **_"Not who you were expecting, maybe?"_**

"…no. and i don't recall inviting you to my house, buddy, so how about you get the hell out and leave frisk alone." Sans growled, blue swirls of light igniting in his vision as he stepped forwards threateningly.

Chara merely cocked their head at Sans, watching him with that same creepy grin before lunging forwards with the knife flashing. Sans reflexively flinched, leaping backwards and steadying himself with his back to the stove.

 ** _"_** ** _Scared of a child? Pathetic."_** Chara's red eyes narrowed, and their smile faded. **_"This time, i'm not going to let you die so quickly. This time, you'll learn your lesson."_**

"and what lesson is that? how to dunk an annoying little squirt like yourself?"

 ** _"_** ** _Still joking? No, you idiot, of course not. You're falling down here and now. And you should know that this body? It's mine. There's no point in trying to teach Frisk to be 'kind' because they aren't the dominant SOUL. I am. You should have stayed away from us... and now I'll make sure you regret not doing that."_** Chara paused meaningfully to let the words sink in and then smiled again, clapping their hands together. **_"Oh hey, I know! How about as punishment, I'll start a game. Every run after this, I'll try and kill your brother! I'll kill him in front of your gaze over and over and over and I can see you cry finally! You've always smiled like that… see, you're smiling even though you want to kill me! Isn't that strange? Isn't that weird? It's like you don't care about anyone, and yet you do! You care so much it's strange when it gets to this point after all of that! But that's why you're interesting! I wonder how your brother's face will look when I give him your dust as a present, huh Sans? He's going to-"_**

"-that's enough out of you, buddy." Sans's eyes narrowed, glaring down at the human in pure fury as his gaster blasters appeared beside him in a blaze of blue light. "i don't want to hear your monologue any more. now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. let me talk to frisk, or else _you're going to have a bad time_."

Chara shook their head and shrugged in an exaggerated 'well, I tried to warn you!' motion before suddenly leaping at Sans, eyes flashing with malicious intent. Sans dodged, firing his blasters at Chara, but the slippery brat managed to dodge them and nimbly attacked Sans again, nearly nicking his arm. Sans stumbled back and grunted as his back pressed against the sink, and Chara giggling as they advanced on their cornered prey.

As they swung the knife at him, Sans leaped to the side, arm yanking forwards to transform Chara's red SOUL into a blue one and dragging their body back to the ground as hard as he possibly could, Chara's back arching as their breath whooshed out of their body.

Chara looked up at Sans in annoyance and glared at Sans, teeth gritting, before they froze for a split second, eyes widening. Their red eyes flickered for a moment, then they leered again and started to push themself back to their feet.

But that split second of hesitation was all Sans had needed. With a jerking motion upwards, bones shot out of the ground, impaling Chara's chest with a crunching sound. Sans silently gazed down at the human as their blood started to drip down onto the ground and dye the kitchen floor bright red.

Chara coughed, and suddenly their shoulders started shaking.

"buddy…are you seriously crying…?" Sans asked coldly, staring down at the killer with narrowed eyes.

Instead, Chara's giggles grew louder, and they jerked their head up to bare their teeth at Sans in a twisted grin. **_"hehehehe, you think you've won this fight? I still won this! You can't beat me!"_** Chara rasped, before suddenly slumping over, going still.

Sans frowned, and stood there for a moment, gazing at Chara's body. Was Frisk gone forever? Who was going to come through the Ruins' gate next time? But Sans sighed, tired, before he started to turn back around to go back to sleep and wait for the RESET to come into effect. No point in wondering about it, after all. He would learn the truth soon, after all.

And yet.

As he turned away, suddenly the body moved again and took a long, shuddering breath.

"ugh…. W-what…?" A weak voice murmured, and Sans's eyes widened as the human lifted their face, blood trickling from their forehead. _wha-? they shouldn't be alive_ , Sans thought in surprise. _Or, at the very least, they won't be alive for much longer. serves that nasty brother killer right, bleeding out into a slow and painful death._ He studied the kid for a moment, and suddenly he froze as a chill ran down his spine. The red eyes and wide grin were gone… and so that meant the only SOUL feeling the excruciatingly painful process of death wasn't Chara, it was…

"frisk!" Sans bellowed, racing back over to the human and dropping to his knees. His eyes darted over the human's body, at the numerous bones impaling their small frame, and shuddered as he realized there was nothing he could do. If he retracted the bones back into the floor, they would widen the holes in Frisk's body, and they would bleed out even faster. Sans could only hopelessly sit and watch them die.

Frisk blinked up at Sans, confused, and then they looked down at their blood covered hands in confusion.

"S-sans…?"

.

Sans was staring down at them, face even paler than usual when Frisk awoke. Their body felt… strange. Frisk couldn't breathe properly, and they could taste blood in their mouth. They twitched and immense pain wracked down their body, enough to make them bite down onto their lip hard enough so blood dripped down their chin.

"Sans, what happened?" Frisk begged weakly, and the skeleton's hand rose to cover his mouth as he gazed at something underneath Frisk.

"…shit. shit. shit." The skeleton's gaze jerked back up to Frisk's face, and he looked away. "i… damn it. frisk, y-you're body… chara was… i just…" He covered his face with his hands, and Frisk was shocked to see Sans's shoulders slightly shaking. "oh god, frisk. i'm sorry. this was what that monster was aiming for all along, wasn't it?"

"Sans?" Frisk asked, worried. Their sides heaved as they felt their body shriek with each breath they rasped, and Frisk was dimly aware that they weren't lying on any flat surface. They were… were those bones holding them up?

Frisk's breath hitched, and they struggled not to scream as their arm jerked down to feel where the bones went into their stomach. From the pain lacing up and down their body… these bones went all the way back out through their back. Frisk opened their mouth to scream, but choked it down as they remembered Sans sitting across from them.

"i'm sorry. i can't heal you, frisk… i don't have strong healing abilities. they would only prolong your death at this point…" Sans didn't look at Frisk as he spoke. "we ran out of food, too… was gonna go to the store tomorrow…" He took a deep breath, and finally turned back to gaze down at Frisk. "…those wounds are going to kill you, frisk. you have to do a RESET this time. …sorry, kiddo."

Frisk smiled weakly up at Sans, and coughed as blood splattered onto the floor. "H-hey… it's okay… my…. fault, Sans." They struggled to take another breath of air and tried to reach out and touch Sans reassuringly. They had been through so many RESETS that by now, one more didn't really matter, after all, right? "Didn't….know…Chara... I forgive you, so-" Frisk struggled to get the words out, and their vision swam in front of their eyes. Sans was too far away for Frisk to touch him, and their hand fell to dangle above the ground, blood dripping down their fingers and splattering onto the floor. "Please, Sans… make me RESET it now."

"wha-?! kid, you don't mean…"

"Please, Sans." Frisk asked, voice only slightly louder than a whisper. "It h-hurts…"

Sans's shoulders stiffened, and he silently rose to his feet staring down at Frisk with his expression dark. He sighed, and raised one arm towards the ceiling. Frisk tried to smile up at him, but all they could manage was a grimace of pain. "…hurry and return, okay?" The skeleton asked quietly, a gaster blaster appearing behind his outstretched arm. Frisk closed their eyes, and the last thing they saw was Sans's arm came down before Frisk's thoughts went white in a blinding wave of pain.

And the world RESET.

.

.

.

…? _Why hasn't it RESET yet?_

 _[It is time,]_ the voice whispered, and Frisk woke up in a cold sweat among the yellow flowers once again.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the main villain enters...?

"c'mon, we're pals aren't we? i need to enter the ruins for just one day!" Sans pleaded through the door.

"…I can't do that. This door is supposed to stay shut."

"please, c'mon, lady, i'm begging you here!"

"What happened?" Toriel asked finally, worry evident in her voice. "Your brother didn't somehow get in here did he?"

"no… my friend… a human child… look, they're alone right now! they should've come out by now, and i need to be with them! please…" Sans pleaded, resting his forehead against the door. "i'm worried they're gonna do somethin' stupid and hurt themself..." _and if chara is there anymore… well. i'm going to find some way to scare that nasty kid off for good._ Sans thought bitterly. _where did that little bastard run off to, anyways?_

"…I-I see. Well, if it makes you feel better, I'll go look for you. If I see your friend I'll lead them to the exit, all right?" Toriel finally replied, and Sans sighed with relief.

"…thanks. but, uh, if the kid's eyes are red, stay far away from them, okay? that wouldn't be my friend. that's…. someone else."

"Got it. Don't worry, if they somehow got in here I'll find them before you can think of two knock knock jokes," Toriel assured, and then her footsteps faded into the distance.

Sans closed his eyes and slid to the ground, staring up at the sky. "…what a mess," he sighed, dropping his head to rest it on his kneecaps. "what a mess," he repeated quietly.

.

Frisk gazed up at the hole high above them, stretching a hand up only to let it fall limply across their face. They kept hearing that same strange voice, over and over in their head… what did it mean? What did any of this mean? Frisk was tired of this… They just wanted to sleep.

"…Chara?" They asked, their vision covered by their arm. They weren't sure if they wanted to talk to the spirit right then, but they had to try. "Chara, why did you do that? It's not going to do anything for either of us."

**"…"**

"I'm tired of you doing this. What do I have to do to make you stop?"

**"…"**

Frisk sighed and allowed their arm to flop back onto the ground. "You always did give me the silence treatment whenever it wasn't going on your terms." They closed their eyes, and sighed. "…I was so scared when I realized what you were doing. I thought I would wake up and Sans and Papyrus would be gone. Did you forget that I'm just at Level One? Eventually I would wake up and take my body back forcefully again, so what was the point?"

 **"** **He killed us! He didn't even hesitate and he killed us!"** Chara finally snapped. **"All that love, all that attention, and he didn't even hesitate to spear your tiny body into torn little shreds! Don't you get it?! He doesn't truly care about you! People… people are always the same, Frisk. Humans. Monsters. In the end, it's best to not trust anyone but ourselves. I could help you where he has failed. I could get rid of this RESET problem of yours. It's been so many RESETS, I thought you'd understand that by now!"**

"…heh." Frisk's mouth tilted up in a small smirk and they sighed. "No. Understand this and understand it well, Chara: you and I are through. Done. Finished."

**"…** **then I'll just have to take your body by force. One day, Frisk, you'll fall asleep and just so happen to have gained a LOVE level by the time you're awake. And the second that happens, I'll be stronger than you once again and you'll pay for this for the rest of your miserable life."**

The SOUL's presence faded from the room, and Frisk took a deep breath and shuddered. They were glad, at least, that no one was around as the tears started falling.

.

Footsteps approached, and Frisk's eyes snapped open with a start.

"nnng… Sans…?" They asked blearily, hastily wiping at their red, puffy eyes before remembering where they were and quickly sitting up.

White clawed feet greeted their vision, and a figure leaned over to offer Frisk a hand, their back to the small amount of sunlight so their face was covered in shadow.

"There you are," Toriel said kindly, retracting her hand a little as Frisk flinched away from the contact. "I've been looking for you."

"Wha-? You h-have?" Frisk asked, startled. "How do you…?"

"How do I know you, my child? I have a, well, a friend on the outside of the Ruins. He asked me to find you and show you the way out. I don't know how you got into the Ruins, but you're a very lucky human if you're already taken under someone's care in the Underground. That's… very rare here."

Frisk gazed up at Toriel for a moment longer, and then hesitatingly accepted her offered hand. She tugged them to their feet, and gently led them back towards her house.

"The safest door is through my house," Toriel explained as they walked. "It's for protecting those that come here. I wouldn't have suggested a human child like yourself to ever leave the Ruins- there are… monsters outside of this area that are intent on hurting children like yourself. But in this case... How long have you been living outside of the Ruins?"

Frisk blinked and looked down at Toriel's hand, gently wrapped around their own. "…I've been in the Underground about…" Frisk hadn't been very good at math in school, so they had to consider the question for a moment. "About two and a half years."

"…? That long?!" Toriel gasped, eyes widening. "And you've… you've been safe that entire time?"

"Not all the time." Frisk's haunted eyes turned away, and they shook their head. "Not all the time, but… but most of it. Sans kept- keeps- me safe."

"Sans? Oh! The skeleton sentry, right? With his brother Papyrus?" Toriel's face lit up with a smile when Frisk nodded and she hummed to herself for a moment. "I knew he wasn't like the other monsters out there," she murmured happily.

When they reached Toriel's house, she offered them water and some food she had bought from the spider bake sale on the way there, as she didn't want to keep Sans waiting while she baked something for Frisk. (She did, of course, apologize for this.) After Frisk ate a little bit of food, Toriel led them down to the exit and gently unlocked the door, swinging it open and standing aside for Frisk to pass.

"Take care, my child. Feel free to come talk to me with Sans next time! If you ever need a place to stay, my door is open for you." Toriel called, and Frisk waved goodbye as they went to meet Sans again.

.

Sans was waiting at the entrance of the door, and immediately strode over to Frisk to check them over quickly, his eyes darting to Frisk's face and then traveling down to their toes. He sighed, relieved, and opened his mouth. "hey, kiddo! i was worried about you." Sans greeted them. He reached out, and although Frisk didn't mean to, they couldn't help but flinch away from his touch. "uhhh…it's okay, frisk," Sans said gently, withdrawing his hand. "that wasn't your fault. it was more mine than, uh, yours, actually. i…shouldn't've forgotten that it was your body as well."

"I know, Sans," Frisk muttered, staring down at their feet. "I don't know why Chara waited so long for me to change my mind like that, but apparently they… they can take over my body when I'm asleep, Sans. I- I'm _dangerous_ , don't you get it? It's better if I just stay away from everyone... even you."

"wha-? that's the opposite of what you should do. i'll watch you and make sure you don't do anything stupid at night this time, got it?" Sans tried to reach for Frisk again, but they stumbled back, shaking their head. "i promised you wouldn't snap under my watch after the first incident with chara, and I'm not breaking my promise now."

"I…" Frisk gazed at Sans with their eyes still red and puffy. "I can't…" They stammered before turning tail and running, feet plowing through the snow as they turned and ran away like the coward Frisk knew they were.

"frisk! wait!" Sans teleported, landing in front of Frisk and grabbed their arm. His grip tightened, and he bent down to look Frisk in the eyes. "come on, frisk, it's okay. you're okay. just come back to the house, please…"

"…One run." Frisk whispered, eyes watering as they looking away from Sans's gaze. "Just… I need one time to be by myself without you watching me like you always do, Sans. I can't… I can't think with everyone always suffocating me with all of this attention! My own thoughts are intruded on by Chara, Alphys watches me on cameras, you are _always_ watching me, I just…. just leave me alone for five days. Please, Sans."

Sans blinked, and stared at Frisk for a long moment, considering how much trouble could happen if Frisk was left alone. "…are you sure that's wise, kiddo?"

"I just want to be left alone. What's the worst that can happen? I get killed by you again?" Frisk challenged, and Sans flinched, grip loosening. That was all needed for Frisk to break free from his grasp and race off, not looking back.

This time, Sans didn't follow them.

.

Frisk leaned against the cave wall, chest heaving as they sank down to rest their head on their knees. Water drops dripped around them, and the soft roar of distant waterfalls allowed Frisk to start feeling a bit calmer.

Their eyelids started to feel heavy, and Frisk's head dipped forwards a bit before they snapped awake again, swaying between sleep and alertness. _I can't sleep now… what if…_ Frisk struggled to stay awake, but it was in vain; their body, still one of a young child with no prior experience traipsing up and down the Underground didn't match up with their mind. With a soft sigh, Frisk drifted off to sleep.

"-are you going to wake up?" An unfamiliar voice asked, and Frisk's eyes flew open, head jerking back so fast they hit their head on the stonewall with a sickening thunk.

"Ouch!" Frisk yelped, hands grasping their head. "Who...?!" Their voice died in their throat, and their eyes locked onto the figure in front of them. They didn't know this person. But how was that possible? Frisk knew the face of pretty much everyone in the Underground… that only left one probable conclusion: This person was another anomaly.

"…he asked me to take you to him." The stranger commented idly, their large eyes drilling into Frisk's own. "We don't want to keep him waiting."

"…Who is he?" Frisk wondered, standing up quickly. The monster was a little taller than themself, and was gray all over with no hair, nose, or color whatsoever on their body. "Who are _you_?"

"I'm no one important." The monster started to walk away, and then turned and motioned for Frisk to follow. "What are you waiting for? Come on, then. He's watching."

Frisk frowned, and hesitatingly glanced around to see if Sans was anywhere nearby. They couldn't see him, though. In fact, Waterfall felt even quieter than usual, like all of the monsters were hiding and holding their breathes as they waited for the stranger to leave.

Something told Frisk that they shouldn't follow this monster.

But what was the worst that could possibly happen?

Frisk carefully followed as the monster ventured deeper into the heart of the Waterfall caves.

.

"…Here?" Frisk asked, eyes widening as they paused in front of a gray steel door that definitely hadn't been there before. Frisk had never laid eyes on this door before, they would have known if they had. Where had this door come from, and why?

The strange figure moved to the side of the door, and gestured for Frisk to enter. Frisk hesitated for a moment longer, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open. It creaked open with an unhappy groan, and Frisk was greeted with darkness.

Frisk's hand lingered on the door's handle, and they took one more steadying breath before they let go and stepped inside the room. As soon as they took their third step away from the door, the door groaned shut behind them, clicking shut and bathing Frisk in darkness.

Frisk's eyes widened in alarm, but as their vision adjusted in the darkness, they realized the room wasn't quite as dark as they had originally thought. They turned around, wondering why no one was here, before a shape shifted and Frisk froze. A tall, dark figure stood in the center of the room, gazing back at them. How had Frisk missed him?

 _[Welcome, Frisk. I have waited for a being like you to appear for quite a long while.]_ The figure whispered, and Frisk felt chills travel up and down their body. They _knew_ this voice, a voice both chillingly cold and quietly haunting. The voice they could never quite recall… until now.

"You… Who are you?" Frisk asked, their voice coming out quieter than they intended. "I… You… You were at the RESET screen, weren't you? Do you have something to do with the virus…?"

 _[Your deduction is correct.]_ The being turned, white glowing pinpoints that functioned as his eyes shifting to focus on Frisk. _[My name is W. D. Gaster and I am the one who currently controls your RESETS.]_

"Wha-?!" Frisk stumbled back, feeling their stomach jump into their throat. "I-I don't understand."

 _[Did I fail to articulate anything just then?]_ Gaster stepped forwards, and Frisk couldn't suppress their reflex to shudder as his face came into view. One of his eyes tilted down, dark cracks running down his face. His hands had strange holes in them, and his ethereal shape didn't look like it was tangible.

Disregarding the bizarre appearance, however, Gaster almost looked like a… a skeleton.

_"_ _have you ever met a third skeleton?"_

Frisk's eyes widened, and they felt their blood run cold. Sans had known about Gaster. Had Sans known this entire time who controlled Frisk's RESETS? Why hadn't he said anything? Was… was he using Frisk since the first RESET?

No. No. No. NO. NONONONONONONONONO. It couldn't be. It just couldn't _be_...

Frisk's fingernails dug into their palms, not caring as blood started to drip down their hands. "...No," Frisk whispered hoarsely. They had to stay calm. They had to stay calm. If they didn't stay calm, they would fall apart for sure. "But I just don't understand. What do you want with the RESETS? Why haven't you approached me before now?!" _Why did you make me suffer like this?_

The unspoken question pressed down around them, and Gaster stopped advancing, studying Frisk's face with a calm, composed stature in contrast to Frisk's small shaking frame, the human barely able to hold themself together. _[My apologies for the discomfort you went through to get here. Unfortunately, in order to see my form, an organism must first be exposed to a large quantity of particles from the void. Each time you RESET, you were exposed to a few, and eventually, those miniscule numbers created a larger sum.]_ Gaster blinked, eyes tracing the walls around them, and he shook his head regretfully. _[It was also to test your aptitude of my requirements. I needed to ask a being with your abilities for a small request, thus why we are speaking now. You passed, no, surpassed my expectations and thus stand here. I specifically chose you because, unlike the other test subjects, your DETERMINATION doesn't break despite acute discomfort and stress to the point where all other subject's DETERMINATION proved unsuccessful.]_

Frisk swallowed, and stared at Gaster as horror slowly dawned on them as they understood Gaster's meaning. He meant the other human children. Did Gaster make them all go through this as well…? If so, Frisk realized, it wasn't some coincidence none of them ever escaped the Underground.

Frisk swallowed and licked their lips, heart hammering as their SOUL softly glowed in reaction to their fear. "A request? I-I… that's…" Frisk didn't know what to say. Their mind seemed to have gone blank, and all they could think of was the fact that every single one of their unhappy moments all connected to this creature in front of them. "Are you going to release my RESETS?" Frisk finally asked.

_[Certainly. All you need to do is follow my orders and you can continue on with whatever you wish to achieve.]_

"...and if I refuse?"

 _[Then you shall not continue. But, Frisk, I really wouldn't suggest doing that. You don't wish to make me angry, do you? There would be… consequences to that.]_ Gaster replied, his tone never changing but the air itself seeming to feel thicker as Frisk's breath caught in their throat.

Hearing their name spoken by Gaster, Frisk couldn't suppress the anger that flared up inside of them. "I-I still don't understand, why are you doing this to _me_?! Why not someone else?! What do you want…?" Frisk snapped, clenching their fists and shuddering. "Just end this, please! Haven't you done enough already?"

[ _I require your assistance, Frisk. And now, you require mine. All I'm asking is for you to SAVE me as well as the other monsters. I know that you're very kind and caring, Frisk, so is that really so much to ask?_ ] Gaster asked, his white eyes flickering in the darkness. [ _Only then will I release my hold on your RESETS_.]

Frisk stood there, staring at the ground, before raising their head and defiantly glaring at the skeleton. "…then I'll find another way. This 'kind and caring' person that you're talking about was before you made me go through this- this _hell_ , so you're looking at the wrong human now. Go find some other kind and caring little puppet to play with… I don't think you're worth SAVING." Frisk spun around, intent on storming out, when Gaster's cold voice made them halt.

[ _You'll come back. Even if it takes a thousand RESETS, you have so much DETERMINATION that you're trapped here forever, Frisk. You'll be back.]_

Frisk paused, and turned to look back over their shoulder. "I've heard that kind of threat before… It won't work on me. I can find some other way."

[ _Haaa… why do I always have to deal with the problem children?]_ Gaster asked in exasperation, emotion finally showing on his face. _[…hmm. Well, unlike your friend- and I assume we're talking about the first human SOUL that fell down here- there's one major difference that you're missing here-_ I _control your RESETS. After all, when did I promise Sans would keep remembering everything? He's the only one that you consistently remain fixated on as an anchor for your mental health, but I can fix that, you know_. _I can start RESETS at random times, so perhaps you would have even as long as a year on the surface with everyone before it's once again ripped away from your grasp. And you'd never know when it was coming… now wouldn't that be interesting?_ ]

"….You wouldn't." Frisk whispered, paling and turning back to face Gaster.

[ _Oh, but I would. You see, Frisk, I've waited a very long time for someone of your caliber to come to the Underground_.] Gaster commented, his dark mood hidden behind a suddenly very cheerful exterior. A dark grin stretched across his face, and he gestured at Frisk. [ _A human with enough DETERMINATION to keep going, even if they're stuck in a loop that seems never ending. A human who keeps going when others would have just given up and faded away. A human who wants to SAVE everyone- isn't that right?]_

Frisk paled, backed up, and their back hit the metal door, the freezing iron chilling their back. With a frantic jerk, Frisk's hand reached out and grabbed the handle, wrenching the door open as they flew out of the dark room and desperately fled from Gaster, their own shadow chasing them as they ran as fast as they could just so they could get as far away as possible from the monster that held their life in the very palms of his hands.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Sans was sitting on the sofa, distractingly watching a MTT program while he waited for Papyrus to come home. Part of him wanted to go look for Frisk, but Sans also knew that if he didn't give the kid some space soon, they would break. Sans knew that look of desperation on the kid's face from personal experience, after all.

The door slammed open, and Sans jerked, surprised. "what, papyrus, did you see a human or somethin'-… frisk?"

The kid's brown hair was a scruffy mess, strands falling over their eyes and twigs tangled in their hair. Frisk's breaths came in short, angry pants, and they stood, shaking, in the doorframe as they struggled to gain enough oxygen to speak.

"How could you?" The human finally hissed, lifting their head. Sans wasn't sure if he should be relieved that it was still Frisk's face, or concerned over the anger in the gentle child's eyes. "You… you _knew,_ right?" They demanded, shoulders shaking from… was it anger or sadness? Sans rose to his feet, wondering what the hell could have happened in one day to make Frisk like this.

"frisk, i have no idea what you're talking about-"

"Why did you ask me about a third skeleton then?!" Frisk yelled. "You knew about Gaster, don't you?! Why didn't you tell me…?" Their voice cracked, and Frisk scrubbed at their eyes with their sweater's blue sleeve as their voice lost its rage. Tired, fearful uncertainty laced through the child's ragged voice. "Were you also using me, Sans…?"

Sans froze, eyes flickering as the ramifications of what had occurred hit him. Shit. Memories long suppressed hissed in the back of his mind, his vision flickering as Sans took a deep breath to control himself and calm down. He wasn't the one who was having issues right now, it was the kid he needed to focus on. "i… what happened, frisk?" He asked softly. "i can't help you if i don't know what's wrong. whatever you think i did, i swear i had no part of it… c'mon kid, you know me better than that…"

"I don't know if I do though," Frisk stammered, voice wobbling. "Sans I- he said he'll make you forget as well. I don't want that, Sans, but I don't want to do as Gaster says either. What do I do?! What do I do…?"

Sans helplessly stared back at the child, then glanced away, hands tightening into fist. "…come to my lab, frisk. i'll tell you all i know about gaster… and about myself. i guess it's high time i did."

.

Frisk followed Sans into his lab, blinking in confusion as Sans went to one of the drawers and pulled out the photo album again, flipping it open as his eyes flicked from page to page. On the page with the other smiling skeleton, Sans paused, and studied it for a moment for continuing past it. He flipped to the back flap of the binder, and as he lifted the flap a small piece of paper also fluttered out, drifting down onto the floor. Frisk leaned over, and picked up the small slip of paper in their hand as they offered it to Sans.

"take a look, kid. that's… part of what i wanted to show you," Sans murmured.

Frisk, confused, flipped the piece of paper over and puzzled at the crude drawing there. Three smiling people gazed back at Frisk, and there were two words scratched onto the bottom of the page.

_"don't forget."_

"paps drew that," Sans said, nodding at the paper. "it's a picture of… of our family. before uh, everything got not so great, paps and i used to live with gaster."

Frisk jerked, nearly dropping the drawing. "Gaster was your father?"

"…no. skeletons aren't natural monsters, you know? we were his creations, frisk. the weapons to one day free the underworld…" Sans trailed off, lost in thought. He shook his head, and sighed. "he raised us, sure. and at first he was kind. at first we thought of him like a father. then he ordered paps to test his powers by killing innocent monsters… and paps refused. he decided that being affectionate was making both of us weak, and we were tossed back into the lab to be treated as no better than lab rats."

"Sans… I'm sorry I didn't…"

"know? of course not, kiddo. no one does. not even papyrus," Sans said bitterly. "i was supposedly the 'smart one,' in gaster's eyes. so when he was given the task of researching DETERMINATION by the king, well. i was offered a chance. i could work as his assistant and in exchange, i could have a say in the experiments given to papyrus and me." Sans shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "i think he expected me to, uh, get out of all the experiments by giving them to papyrus."

Frisk glanced back down at the drawing, and shivered. "You didn't, though."

"nope. in fact, i did the opposite. all of the DETERMINATION experiments… i took them all in my brother's place. every last one of 'em. heh, and now, i'm left with the remembrance of each RESET as a gift from gaster. perhaps the only thing of worth he ever left me with, other than paps himself."

"I… I don't understand though. Why doesn't Papyrus remember? Why is Gaster after me?"

Sans closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. "some stuff happened. gaster did some dangerous experiment which ended when he fell into the core, and that was that. the whole place exploded, and the experimentations created a breach in the void where gaster had been. i was caught in the explosion, and when i woke up, gaster was gone, i could use shortcuts, and papyrus was crying over my body."

Sans opened his eyes, eyes narrowed into black slits. "and now you know why i don't tell anyone this stuff. too angsty, y'know? not my kinda story. i never got over my bone to pick with gaster, either."

"…I don't know what to say," Frisk muttered, stepping up to Sans and leaning against him a little. They glanced between him and the drawing, and then swallowed. "What should I do, Sans? SAVE him? He said he would give me control back then, but that… the other humans. He killed them in these experiments, Sans. – I'm scared."

"he _what_?" Sans stiffened, pulling away from Frisk to glance down at their face. "…i see. welp, it's late kiddo, so uh, don't worry about this, okay? it'll be fine, and it can surely wait until morning. let's go to sleep, okay?"

Frisk watched Sans's stiff shoulders for a moment, but didn't point out the clear tension in Sans's body language. "Okay," they said quietly. "You'll make sure Chara doesn't…?"

"of course. let's go watch that movie again, huh? we've only seen it what, twelve times? not too bad, if i say so myself. i'll go try and find a new one tomorrow… dunno if we've watched them all yet though."

Frisk half-heartedly laughed, and followed Sans inside the house. They fell asleep on the sofa quickly though, mind falling into troubled thoughts and worries so they twitched as they slept.

Sans stood over them, watching their chest rise and fall for a moment, before he teleported out of the room.

It was time he and Gaster had a little talk.

.

The iron door slammed open, dim light flooding into the dark room.

The figure in the room lifted his head and turned, grinning as he noticed his visitor.

 _(My my. Two guests in one day? How peculiar,)_ Gaster signed at Sans.

Sans's gaze narrowed further, irritation filling him at the sight of Gaster's sign language. "don't you dare start that, buddy, i know your voice works juuuust fine."

Gaster laughed and shrugged. _(Perhaps it does. But habits are quite difficult to dispose of after so long. Why don't you go ahead and communicate in Wing Dings as well?)_

"no. not gonna happen." Sans stayed a few wary paces away from Gaster, his left eye glowing a brilliant blue to light the place up, and he glowered at Gaster. "now. my friend tells me you're the one RESETTING the world hundreds of times. stealing the RESET powers off of innocent humans and experimenting on 'em until they break."

_(What is your point here?)_

"…haaaah. not even defending yourself?" Sans questioned, fists clenching. He was forcing his shoulders not to shake, because it had been many, many years since he had last spoken to Gaster and yet he was still so, so damn _scared_ in front of this monster. He felt powerless and small again, and Sans hated the feeling.

_(Why would I? We did things of similar caliber in the past. Or have you forgotten, Sans? We even conducted the experiments on your brother together. Don't depict me as some villain when you left me here to rot despite having the ability to help SAVE me long ago.)_

Sans gritted his teeth, and finally his anger overcame his hesitation and he stormed up to Gaster to poke him in the chest. "of course i haven't. i haven't been able to forget a single thing you did to me, you asshole, but i was willing to forget even if i wouldn't ever forgive you for that. and now, what, you've made me RESET five hundred and twenty-six times because you were just _experimenting on little kids?!_ "

Gaster leered down at the shorter skeleton, and leaned down towards him, his eyes staring emotionlessly into Sans's blazing blue one. _(It didn't have to be this way, Sans. You could have injected yourself with DETERMINATION and SAVED me from the day you found me in this state. You knew how to. You're my creation, so who cares if you die on my behalf? That was your duty from the very start, Sans.)_

Sans glared back up at him, then swiped at his face, as if he was brushing away his own dark thoughts, spun, and stalked back towards the door. "give frisk their RESET back. they did nothing to deserve this."

 _(No. Not until they do what I want. And trust me on this, S01, you don't want them to suffer anymore than they have to, so you should be the exemplary assistant and do as you're told.)_ Gaster signed as Sans paused and looked back.

The short skeleton didn't reply, just slammed the door shut on his way out so hard Gaster could feel the vibrations travel through the floor. The skeleton with emotionless eyes and a cold smile laughed softly, because he knew Sans better than anyone else.

Gaster had won this round. Sans was powerless to go against him.

.

Sans was up early for once. Unable to sleep the entire night, he had paced nervously and waited for Papyrus to wake up. It wouldn't be ideal for his brother to walk downstairs and attack Frisk while they were sleeping, after all.

But, more than that, Sans was _pissed._ Gaster had always been an abusive, two-faced scientist who didn't truly care about Sans, but Sans had thought that the last time he had spoken to Gaster would be the last. After the explosion, Gaster had just been so wretched, so regretful, that Sans thought maybe he would examine his choices and become something… better. If only a little bit so. Even if he didn't deserve SAVING no matter what he changed about his personality for everything he had done to Sans. Done to Papyrus. Now, though, Gaster had just gotten worse after all.

The Wing Dings, for one, was a disgusting tactic to throw Sans's position back into his face. And to do these RESETS to _children?_ Frisk was going to end up a young adult trapped in a child's body, and Gaster didn't care. No, scratch that, Gaster wanted Frisk to die for him, and hadn't even told the kid that.

It was just… just so unforgivable that at every turn, Gaster was still trying to turn Sans into a cold, uncaring scientist to finish Gaster's dirty business. Sans knew very well what this situation entailed. If Sans kept quiet and encouraged Frisk to do what Gaster wanted… Frisk probably wouldn't live to get their RESETS back. But if he told them, if the two fought against Gaster… then what? How could Sans possibly fix this?

Shit.

Sans rubbed his forehead with his hand, then started as the door behind him creaked open. "SANS?" Papyrus asked. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP? DO YOU HAVE A SPARRING SESSION WITH UNDYNE, TOO?"

"uhhh… no. listen, paps, we have an uh, guest staying here. just for a few days, all right? they needed a place to go, so…"

"OH! THAT'S FINE! WHO IS IT?" Papyrus questioned. "I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD FRIENDS THAT NEEDED A PLACE TO GO."

"ouch, paps, that's harsh. it's our cousin, actually."

"…I SEE. WOWEE, I'M LOOKING FORWARDS TO SEEING THEM!" Papyrus said cheerfully. "ARE THEY HERE ALREADY?"

"yep. asleep on the sofa, hope you don't mind."

"GOT IT! I'LL COOK SOME EXTRA SPAGHETTI AS A WELCOME GIFT FOR THEM BEFORE I LEAVE!"

Sans sighed in relief, one issue resolved. He rubbed his head and started back down the stairs, when Papyrus's voice made him pause.

"HEY… SANS?"

"what is it?"

"IF- IF THERE"S SOMETHING WRONG, YOU CAN TALK TO ME ABOUT IT." Papyrus offered sheepishly. "YOU ONLY EVER PACE WHEN YOU'RE WORRIED. AND YOU'RE ALSO AWAKE AT THIS HOUR? IT'S STRANGE."

Sans sighed, and grinned over his shoulder at Papyrus. This conversation, San mused, had happened at least fifty times since Frisk had come into his life. "nah, nothing is wrong. just making sure you don't attack our cousin, they look a bit… strange."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT- SANS, IS THAT A HUMAN ON OUR COUCH?"

"my point exactly."


	18. Chapter Eighteen

"i think we should do it."

Frisk froze, fork halfway to their mouth. "Do what?"

"help gaster."

Frisk blinked once, staring at Sans in surprise. The spaghetti slipped off of their fork and landed on the plate with a plop. "Wait, what? Just like that?"

"yep." Sans wouldn't look them in the eye, and he shifted uncomfortably. "i know the gist of what he, uh, wants you to do. if i can convince him to give us longer RESET sequences then we should have the time to adjust my machine and we can fix this mess."

"But… I… are you sure, Sans?" Frisk asked nervously. "What if something goes wrong?"

"it won't. i'll make sure of it," Sans replied, eyes flickering for a moment. He swept his hand over his face, shoulders slumping as he sighed. "…i'll be back. i have to go talk to gaster so we can start working."

"Wait-" Frisk started, but Sans vanished in a flash, leaving Frisk all alone in the large house. Frisk sighed, and set the fork down with a clink. Shoving the chair back, they wandered out of the house and into the snowy town beyond.

Frisk stuffed their hands into their pockets, their breaths coming out in white puffs as they walked through the snow. The cold air helped them think and cleared their head a bit, and Frisk wanted to just get away from the house for a while so they could consider the last twenty-four hours.

The snow crunched under their weight, and Frisk soon reached the edge of the town. Sitting down in the snow, their back to the town, Frisk absently picked up a handful of snow and started molding it into a snowball.

"Howdy! What're you doing out here alone?" A small yellow flower asked, popping up besides Frisk.

Frisk paused, studying the flower from the corner of their eye, before continuing to mold the snowball. "Hey, Asriel."

Flowey jerked, eyes widening, and the flower's shock was clear. "I… What… How do you know that?! Where did you get that name?!"

Frisk sighed, watching their breath drift into the wind. "My first time in the Underground. Before it was RESET. You don't remember this, Asriel, but I- I've been down here for a really long time."

"No… that can't be, I would remember! What kind of trick is this?!" Flowey demanded.

Frisk set the snowball down and picked up another chunk of snow. "Erm… it's not my trick. But I figured that if something goes wrong this time, maybe you could, I don't know, help me out? I've never tried talking to you like this before, Asriel, so who knows how this could end."

Flowey shuddered, eyes narrowing into black slits. "How many RESETS have you been down here? What have you seen?" Realization dawned on the flower, and he jerked back from Frisk as if they had burnt the flower. "N-no… those dreams… they couldn't have been… you're… Frisk?"

Frisk nearly dropped the snowball that time, spinning to look at Flowey. "You remember my name?"

"That… what… didn't C-Chara return though? I-I… I don't understand… what are these memories?" Flowey's petals curled around his head as he shuddered. "I don't understand. I don't understand. What's happening to me?!"

"Are you okay?" Frisk asked in concern. "I thought you didn't remember my past RESETS after all, but you're just like…" They trailed off. _Why are Flowey's memories preserved in dreams similar to Papyrus's? Is the virus leaking memories of all the RESETS into everyone's heads?!_ "Why don't you come with me?" Frisk questioned. "We can talk inside, if you promise not to try and hurt anyone."

"Nnnng, n-no." Flowey muttered. "No. I need to figure this out. I… I've got to go."

The flower vanished back into the ground, and Frisk gazed at the spot where he had been. They turned away and started making snowballs again. "Asriel… I wonder if I can save you after this," they whispered to themself.

.

_(Very well. I can do that.)_

Sans turned to leave, no more words left for him to stay. He didn't look back, and it was only Gaster's voice, a voice Sans had only heard once before, that made him pause.

_[I knew you would come around, Sans.]_

The door loudly slammed shut for the third time in the past twenty-four hours.

.

"we have one month this run." Sans informed Frisk when they walked into the lab. Sans had yanked the sheet off of his machine, and was tinkering with the wires on it. "…frisk, i-" Sans paused, hesitation flitting across his face as his smile diminished. "here's how this is gonna work; the only way i know to do this is to somehow, uh, make it so we're sent to the moment the core exploded. basically, hotwire the RESETS to send us beyond one's personal experiences to a point where we exist outside of time itself."

Frisk swallowed. "That sounds really dangerous."

"yup. each second spent in a time like that eats at one's own DETERMINATION, and if you run out of DETERMINATION while you're in this state, then, well, game over." Sans turned and gazed seriously at Frisk. "it's why humans are needed for this."

"So, this machine sends me back, I save Gaster from falling into the Core, and that's it? Can I get back safely?"

"don't worry, i'm working on that. the machine was originally just a way for me to RESET like you can do naturally, but changing it like this would require a constant connection to the machine in present X, Y, and Z coordinates. this burns so much energy, though, so i need to protect it from overheating and connect it to some other device…" Sans trailed off, hissing in frustration as a spark singed his skeletal fingers as he worked.

Frisk ventured closer, dubiously giving the machine an once-over. "Doesn't this mean I could get stranded if anything breaks?! Sans, how safe is this thing exactly?!"

Sans still didn't look at Frisk as he kept working. "c'mon, kiddo, i'm not _that_ bad of a scientist. it's not the machine you should be worried about, anyways, it's the explosions happening on the other side of the machine you'll need to focus on. while in the past, this machine will latch onto your DETERMINATION, cutting off your ability to RESET whatsoever. if you kick the bucket and fail to SAVE gaster, that's it."

Frisk swallowed. "Why don't we just turn my DETERMINATION off without doing this? Wouldn't that work too?"

"nah. if we tried that, logistics aside, one day you might grow out of that DETERMINATION and well… yup. not a pretty picture."

"…I-I see."

.

"SO, COUSIN. YOU'VE BEEN HERE FOR TWO WEEKS ALREADY… HONESTLY, I DIDN'T THINK YOU'D STICK AROUND THIS LONG." Papyrus said cheerfully. "ARE YOU STAYING FOREVER THIS TIME?"

Frisk blinked up at him and set the book aside. They had been puzzling over Quantum Physics, because honestly they had no idea on the specifics of whatever Sans was working on. They weren't even sure if they needed to be reading the Quantum Physics book or something else in the first place. The end result was the same, however; an incomprehensible headache.

"I'm staying a month," they told Papyrus with a weary smile. "Why? Do you want to kick me out already? It's just my first time here, Papyrus, I'd hate that you'd be tired of me already."

"OH NO, OF COURSE NOT! I WOULD NEVER!" Papyrus defended. "I JUST… HMMM. I'VE NEVER HAD A GUEST STAY FOR SO LONG. NOT TO MENTION UNDYNE IS SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR IN MY ROOM AFTER SHE BURNED HER HOUSE DOWN. WOWEE, OUR HOUSE FEELS CROWDED NOW!"

"Sorry," Frisk laughed. "We got carried away cooking."

"DO YOU LIKE TO COOK TOO, COUSIN?" Papyrus asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I like it. It's pretty fun." Frisk admitted.

Papyrus's eyes glinted and he grabbed Frisk by the arm, tugging them to their feet. "LET'S COOK SOMETHING, THEN! SANS WILL BE HUNGRY AFTER HE FINISHES WORKING ON HIS HOBBY, AND IN THE MEANWHILE YOU, UNDYNE, AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN COOK A SPECIAL DINNER FOR HIM!"

Frisk allowed themself to be dragged along. "Okay, but if we burn the house down, tell Sans it's not my fault!"

.

Sans yawned tiredly and rubbed at his eye sockets. No good. This wire was too small, and he needed a smaller screwdriver. One of his gaster blasters nudged at his arm, and he patted it absentmindedly as it dropped the wrench on his lap.

Outside, he could hear the delighted yells of Frisk and Papyrus. He couldn't help but smile tiredly. This time, he would make sure the kid was happy.

After everything, they deserved a happy ending, after all.

.

"don't you dare move." Sans said coldly, eye glowing blue.

Chara glared back at them, hand frozen where they had reached down to push themself up into a seating position, and Sans watched them carefully. "i had a feeling you'd show up, sooner or later. what were you planning to do, exactly? smash my machine perhaps? that'd give you _plenty_ more time to wait for frisk to break, wouldn't it buddy?"

 ** _"Why don't you go jump off a cliff?"_** Chara snapped. **_"This doesn't concern you!"_**

"of course it does. now, this time i kind of can't let things RESET, so how about you go back to sleep for a good month?"

Chara's red eyes glowered up at Sans, calculations on the probability of managing any damage racing through their head. They had been sure Sans was asleep, but it appeared not. If they could force Frisk into RESETTING here, that would work as well, but there were no weapons in sight and the skeleton was watching their every move.

 ** _"Damn it all,"_** Chara hissed.

"…please don't cuss with the kid's mouth. that's just unsettling."

**_"Oh yeah? Well guess what, fu-"_ **

Sans knocked the kid out with one of his bones from behind, watching the kid slump back to the floor with a smirk. "much better," he grumbled, turning back to his work.

That morning, Frisk woke up with a really bad headache, but was relieved when Sans grinned at them and jokingly told them they were too young to be bringing home other people to meet Sans just yet.

.

"Are you sure I can't help?"

"i'm sure, kiddo. i need to make sure this functions perfectly. it's not a hands-on kind of deal here."

"Well, ok… but call me if you need any help!" Frisk asked softly. "I want to help you and make this work as fast as possible too, Sans."

"…yeah."

.

The month had passed quickly enough. Almost too quickly, Sans thought. He didn't have time to sleep because this darn machine had to be completely rebuilt after one essential fuse burned out. He should've had at least a year to go over everything, never mind the idea that in one month if he wasn't done he'd have to start all over.

Good thing he could survive without sleep, even if it was definitely an unpleasant feeling to go without it. At least Sans hadn't been getting any bad dreams. Waking nightmares were the only thing disturbing him for a good while.

Sans set the welding torch down, wiping the sweat off from his forehead. It was the middle of the night, and he had finally finished the machine. There was just one last task to do.

His footsteps echoed in the quiet night, and Frisk, who was sleeping on some pillows in the corner of his lab, shifted as the lab door slid open and snow blew in. Sans slipped out and closed the door behind him. He'd be back before the kid noticed, hopefully.

Sans ventured into the forest, calling for the creature in question he needed to see.

"What is it?" Snapped the small flower, appearing before Sans. "What do _you_ want? Golly I've had an awful month, and I don't feel like dealing with you and your RESET crisis, ok?"

"nice to see ya too, buddy." Sans gazed down at the flower, memories of the two butting heads in past runs flashing through his mind. "so i take it frisk told you the situation?"

"Yes… no. I remembered it once they confirmed my suspicions but… I… I don't know everything, OK? All I know is that my chance to find my best friend hinges on Frisk giving up control." Flowey grumbled.

"real funny, buddy. don't try anything of the sort." Sans shifted in the snow, studying his slippers for a moment. "look… i need your help with somethin'…"  
.

"?! That's… are you crazy?! You want me to _what?!"_

"come on, buddy, it's for the benefit of both of us."

"How is that to my benefit, you idiot?!"

"…do you want to be stuck in a perpetual timeloop with no memory of it?"

"I… that's…" Flowey trailed off, then growled. "Ughhh. FINE, ALREADY. I'LL DO IT."

"great."

.

"anyways, because of certain time constraints i couldn't get the machine to stay cooled down for long. it should be fine for one trip there and back, but after that i'm pretty sure i'll have to rebuild it from scratch if we need to try again."

"Okay... I'm definitely not ready, but go ahead." Frisk whispered, squeezing their eyes shut.

Sans stepped back and glanced down at them. "hold on, kiddo." He picked up the locket area of the choker he had slipped around their neck, and made sure the battery glowed at full percent. He nodded, and pulled a second choker out of his pocket.

"…? Sans, what's the second device for?"

"i'm coming with you," Sans said calmly.

"You're _what_?!" Frisk froze, eyes widening. "Wha- wait, you don't have enough DETERMINATION for this, Sans! No, absolutely not you'd-"

"-be absolutely fine." Sans flipped his locket over to show Frisk a glowing vial of red attached to the back. "relax, kiddo, i know what i'm doing here. i used some extra DETERMINATION to at least get through thirty minutes in the past. i couldn't just leave you alone, y'know?"

"Where did you…?"

"i convinced the flower to lend me some of his DETERMINATION. more difficult than it looks." Sans said cheerfully. "don't worry, i didn't take enough to hurt him. whatever else i needed, there was a little bit leftover in alphys's lab as well. look, frisk. if you go alone, i'm pretty sure you wouldn't make it back, no matter the result. if i went alone, i know for a fact i wouldn't make it. and maybe together we can? i'm uh, willing to take that risk."

Frisk gazed at Sans with wide eyes, and they nervously felt the choker around their neck. "…sounds good to me," they said nervously. "So. Ready to end this, Sans?"

"you have no idea, kiddo. remember, RESETS are void, and we can always build another machine if we fail this time. if anything goes wrong… hit the button on your necklace, got it?"

"Yep. Let's do this."

Sans clicked a button on the machine next to him, and as its lights turned on with a soft humming noise, Frisk and Sans vanished in a flicker of light.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Frisk fell through the darkness again, hand grasping for the only other tangible thing in the void; Sans. The skeleton, obscured by the darkness that surrounded them, reached out in turn.

Frisk gratefully latched onto Sans's arm, eyes squeezing shut as they tumbled head over heels and landed with a thump on top of the ground.

"you okay, kid?" Sans asked, glancing down at Frisk and helping them back up to their feet. His blue hoodie was flipped up over his head, and he studied Frisk in concern as they stumbled when their feet sent pines and needles shot up their body.

"'m fine." Frisk murmured. They shifted their gaze to the surroundings, and blinked in surprise when they realized they were in the main area of the Hotlands. Steam hissed around them, and Frisk could feel sweat drip down their neck. The necklace felt hot against their throat, humming with electricity as it started performing its job. "Why are we in the Hotlands?"

"i added the coordinates so we wouldn't have to walk too far. i'm not sure if, uh, my shortcuts work here." Sans's eyes skimmed over every detail, and Frisk could tell from his stiff shoulders that Sans was nervous. "c'mon, we've only got thirty minutes. the core's going to explode in twenty-five."

Frisk released their grip on Sans's jacket and quietly followed him as he slipped up to the laboratory that loomed overhead. It didn't look overly different to Alphys's lab, but as Sans pulled out the badge he had snagged from his personal lab and slipped it into the door's slot, Frisk could tell the inside was anything but the lab they knew.

Equipment hung in all of the corners of the room, arranged in neat piles in stark contrast to Alphys's usual mess. Papers were placed in neat piles, and Frisk could see no personal items present in the room. Everything looked perfectly organized and synthetic.

Sans drew in a deep breath, and started forwards, Frisk following at his heels. Their footsteps sounded loud in the eerily quiet lab, and Sans didn't look around as he made a beeline for the exit door. "we have to get to the core."

A soft cry echoed from the door to the left, and Sans froze for a moment before he forced himself to keep moving. Frisk, curious, lingered by the door, but Sans motioned them forwards. "we can't afford to dawdle, kiddo. trust me, you don't want to see what's down there anyways."

"…? Okay, if you say so." Frisk followed Sans as the skeleton, for one of the first times Frisk had seen, briskly walked through Hotland's corridors.

The MTT Resort was absent, not yet built, although the elevator remained. Sans and Frisk ducked inside, and Frisk was surprised when Sans once again swiped his card and the elevator lurched downwards. A rumble groaned throughout the elevator, and Frisk's teeth vibrated in their head as the elevator shakily descended.

 _Ding._ The doors slipped back open, and Frisk raced forwards, eager to see what the Core looked like up close. A large cavern stretched out before them, and boiling lava and machinery hissed and whined in the glowing red hues. "Oh wow," Frisk breathed, sweat already dripping down their face. "Sans, is this-" Frisk turned, and looked around in confusion. "Sans?"

The skeleton was staring down below them, eye sockets pure black. Frisk could see his grip tightening on the rail, and another tremor went through the earth.

Frisk's gaze followed Sans's, and they blinked in surprise. There was… another Sans. Dressed in a white lab coat and working quickly, he was being yelled at by another skeleton. Although tall and lean, it wasn't Papyrus. Although a far cry from the ghostly remnants Frisk had met, they knew that this must be Gaster prior to his accident.

"How long do we have?" Frisk asked softly.

Sans twitched, and turned away from the scene below. "about fifteen minutes… i- the past me- should leave in about two. i can't be seen until then."

Shrill beeping erupted from the machinery, and Gaster turned and pointed at another door. The other Sans ran off, and Frisk and Sans both stiffened. "Show time, huh?" Frisk asked nervously.

"yup. i'll try and fix the machinery, frisk, go grab gaster and get him out of here. if he gives you any trouble, yell."

Frisk nodded, and the two split. Frisk descended the stairs two at a time and raced towards the tall scientist, fear and anxiousness bubbling in their throat like butterflies had escaped from their stomach and flown free. Frisk reached out, leaping towards Gaster. "You have to leave here!" Frisk yelled over the wailing of machinery.

Gaster turned and spotted Frisk, brow furrowing as he spotted the child. [Who the hell- who permitted you to enter here?!] Gaster hissed in shock as he backed towards the Core.

"No- wait, please! You're in danger!" Frisk begged. "You'll fall if you're not careful!"

[What level of clearance do you have? This is a danger zone, this is no place for a child! Even one that's…] Gaster's eyes narrowed, and Frisk skidded to a stop as Gaster's shadow fell over them. [Even one that's a human child.]

The ivory white hand reached towards them like a claw, and Frisk started to retreat, backing up until they tripped over their own feet and tumbled backwards. Their red SOUL, pulsing gently on top of their chest, turned black with a ding. They started to float, and Frisk scrabbled for the ground in desperation but failed to prevent themself from floating up and bobbing five feet off the ground.

[I'll deal with you later, after I repair the injured fuse. It appears it was too early to implement the new features.] Gaster stated, turning away disinterestedly.

"Sans!" Frisk yelped.

A rumble echoed through the cavern again, and Frisk covered their head as gravel started to fall and clatter onto the ground around them.

A small blue blur appeared below, and Frisk watched in surprised shock as Sans barreled into Gaster, knocking him down. Gaster staggered backwards, his back pressed against the railing, and his wide eyes turned to Sans in incomprehensive shock. [Sans? What is the meaning of this-]

The railing behind Gaster gave way with another heave of the cavern's walls, and Gaster tumbled backwards, falling into the abyss below.

.

Frisk's yell brought Sans back to his senses, and he dove forwards to peer over the edge, yanking his hand forwards. Just before Gaster got out of range, his SOUL turned blue with a dinging noise, and Sans dragged his body back up to where he was standing.

Sans glanced up at Frisk, who gave him a thumbs up as they watched from their vantage point.

"release them." Sans ordered Gaster.

[I-I… That's ludicrous! We've caught a human, Sans! Do you have any idea what a vital source of DETERMINATION this is? What's gotten into you, Sans?] Gaster stammered, disoriented from his close call.

The rumbling was getting louder, and Sans grabbed Gaster's jacket and yanked the scientist until their faces were inches apart. "let. them. down. NOW."

Sans heard a thump from behind him, and he relaxed. "welp, kid, it's not safe in here. we've got eight minutes, so i'll take gaster outside and be right back to see if i can't just fix this thing. i suppose it's dangerous for you to be with gaster alone as well, though, so you can go where you want."

"I'll see if I can find anything important in here," Frisk offered. "I might not be able to fix the machine but maybe some notes on DETERMINATION were left in here that could help us in the future."

"ok, but be careful, got it?" Sans decided. He turned to Gaster and glowered down at him. He knew he should feel slightly pleased when it was him that had the power and not Gaster, but at the moment his attention was focused on somehow getting both Frisk and himself through this ordeal in one piece. "come on, buddy, we need to get you out of here."

[Sans! How dare you-]

Sans shrugged and turned Gaster's SOUL blue again and forcefully moved him towards the door. "how dare i? buddy. you've done far worse to me."

Sans and Gaster exited the cavern despite the scientist's protests, and Sans pushed him out. "go back to the lab, gaster. today you shouldn't be here."

[Sans, the machine will overheat! All my work, all of my research- do you have any idea what you'll cost us?] Gaster pleaded.

Sans opened his mouth, but at the same moment the necklace around his neck beeped once while the lab simultaneously exploded.

.

"frisk!" Sans left Gaster where he was and raced back to the lab, his SOUL hammering in his chest. "no, no, no, no!"

The Core was covered in smoke, and Sans covered his mouth with a sleeve as he looked around in the sweltering heat. "frisk? come on, kid! where are you?"

Without Gaster working on the Core until the last moment, the Core must have exploded ahead of schedule.

Piles of rubble lay around, pieces of equipment laying in smoking heaps. The ground shuddered and heaved once more under Sans's feet as the Core started to calm down. If Frisk had been too close to the Core and somehow fallen in, then Sans knew he wouldn't find the kid no mater how long he looked. But if the kid had been farther away…

"frisk! answer me!" Sans's hand wandered up to his necklace, and he shuddered as he realized he only had a few minutes left to find Frisk before he had to leave them here. Frisk wouldn't survive here alone.

Near one of the machine piles closer to the door, the rocks shifted and a few came tumbling down to create a soft clicking sound. Sans's head swiveled towards the sound, and he froze as he saw Frisk's hand sticking out from underneath the debris.

Sans had never run this much before in his life, but he threw himself at the pile and started yanking at the debris and pawing at it to clear it away from Frisk. He managed to slowly uncover their wounded body, and sank down to his knees beside them.

An iron bar, part of the machine, had dug its end into Frisk's throat. As Sans watched, blood dripped down the kid's throat and stained their sweater, and their breaths came in short, panicked breaths as their eyes gazed unseeingly at Sans. Sans still didn't know as much about human anatomy as he wished he did, but he could guess he didn't have long until the blood filled Frisk's lungs and they didn't make it.

"oh, frisk…" Sans took a deep breath and leaned forwards. If he sent them back now with the necklace, chances were they could RESET and everything would be fixed. It wasn't the ideal solution because of differing risks, but Sans knew it was the only chance he had… until he saw that the locket he had carefully created had been slightly cracked by the rubble's impact before the kid's blood had dripped onto the necklace and short-circuited it.

Frisk was trapped here.

…No.

Sans had promised he would get the kid back safe. And he intended to keep that promise.

Sans took a deep breath, and gently grabbed Frisk's shoulders to get their attention. "kiddo. i'm going to get this out of you, so stay still, ok?" The child weakly shook their head, fear flickering in their dazed eyes, but Sans carefully restrained them with one hand as he grasped the piece of metal and gently tugged it free from their throat.

Blood immediately started to bubble up from the wound and pool around Frisk's throat, and the human gasped for breath as the blood started to prevent their ability to breath. Sans leaned over and pressed his hands to Frisk's throat, releasing his magic in a steady stream as he concentrated. If the wound had been larger or multiple stab wounds, Sans's weak healing magic wouldn't have helped, but because the wound was fairly clean and small, he managed to at least close it up into an angry red scab instead of an open bleeding wound.

Sans wiped at the sweat from his face, and his locket gave a louder beep as it warned Sans he had one minute left.

Surveying his handiwork, Sans nodded, satisfied Frisk would be all right until they managed to RESET or get healed by someone else. "hey, kiddo? i need you to listen to me for a bit here."

Frisk's eyes fluttered open again, and the human looked small and pale as they weakly sat up, swaying slightly as their hand wandered up to feel their wound.

"frisk… the device i built for you to get home with. it, uh, broke when you got hurt." Sans swallowed as he took another breath, forcing his ringing mind to be quiet and focused on the task at hand. "only one of us can get home, ok? and, uh, whoever stays… they won't make it, frisk. i didn't tell you this because i didn't want to scare ya but when i said my machine would overheat? the entire thing will be irreparable. it took me several years to create the machine in the first place, frisk; i don't have the time or the confidence to make another one."

Sans refused to look at Frisk, certain the kid didn't want to hear it. But this had to be said _now._ "i'm tired, frisk. i grew to see that my actions just don't matter to anyone, they don't accomplish anything, and i… sometimes, i just wanted it all to end, y'know? to just… stop existing. this isn't something that'll just go away. you're young, frisk. i know it's been rough on you as well, kiddo, but… of the two of us, i want it to be you who gets out of this one, okay? even if you stayed here, your DETERMINATION wouldn't last forever. gaster wouldn't let you go, either. so... just… just take care of paps for me, will ya?"

Sans reached up and unclasped the locket, ignoring the shrieking alarm that it started to emit as soon as he unclasped it. He could immediately feel the pressure on his SOUL, and Sans turned and smiled at Frisk as wide as he could manage. "you'll do great things, kiddo. remember that."

Frisk tried to scramble back from Sans, shaking their head and making pleading motions, their throat still too sore to protest in the way Sans knew they wanted to. But the blood loss and possible concussion had taken its toll, and the kid wasn't strong enough to push Sans away as he looped his locket around Frisk's neck. Frisk gazed with wide, scared eyes at Sans, and Sans grinned as he reached out and hit the button on the locket.

The last thing Sans saw of Frisk was their hand desperately reaching for him.

They managed to grab onto his jacket, a weak and desperate attempt to hold on to him, and then they were gone.

Suddenly alone, Sans sighed, slumping on the ground as he gazed at his hands. He had more DETERMINATION than most monsters, but he could feel himself weakening already. This wasn't his time, and his SOUL knew that he shouldn't exist here.

"…heh. guess it's finally time for me to rest." Sans gazed up at the ceiling, and wondered if everyone would remember him. Probably. To them, it would seem like he just vanished one day. At least this way meant he wouldn't end up like Gaster; distorted and forgotten, scattered across the void.

His eyes slowly closed, and Sans wondered if Papyrus would miss his puns.

.

Frisk landed on the floor of Sans's lab and scrambled to their feet, shocked. Their throat burned like it was on fire, and the scratches and bruises stung, but Frisk's eyes were locked on the smoking remains of the machine that was their only connection to Sans now.

The machine in question was destroyed, as Sans had said it would be. Smoke poured out of it in waves, and parts of the metal had actually melted in on itself from the stress, ruining any parts that might have otherwise been salvageable.

 _No no no. It can't be, Sans...you... why did you... how could you leave me alone?!_ Frisk desperately hit the button on the locket, trying to go back, but nothing happened.

They raced towards the machine and tried to make it do _something,_ anything, but nothing happened.

When Papyrus found them, they were curled into a ball besides the ruined machine, too tired to cry at that point.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Frisk's eyes slowly opened, and they sat up, their throat feeling dry and cracked and their eyes scratchy. The sofa squeaked underneath them, and Frisk blinked as their gaze scanned the quiet surroundings.

They were inside Sans's house.

When did they get here?

Frisk's fingers slowly uncurled and they gingerly reached up to touch their neck. A small raised scar was present under their fingertips, but the ugly, cracked feeling of the scab Sans had left on their neck was gone.

Frisk's breath caught in their chest, and they froze, mind racing as they swung their legs off the sofa and kicked off the blanket that had been draped over their body. They stood up quickly, too quickly, and stumbled under their own weight.  
"FRISK, WAIT, DON'T GET UP!" Heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs, and gloved hands caught Frisk just as they started to topple over. "I JUST FINISHED HEALING YOU, YOUR BODY NEEDS TO REST!"

Frisk sagged in Papyrus's hands, grateful for the support, but at the same time struggling to repress the need to go look at the machine one more time. They opened their mouth to beg Papyrus to help them back to the lab, but the words stuck in their throat along with the faint aftertaste of blood. Their throat seemed to itch, and Frisk broke off coughing as they covered their mouth.

"OH, UH, WAIT A MOMENT HUMAN, WE'LL GO PROCURE SOME WATER FOR YOU!" Papyrus decided, picking Frisk up gently and cradling them across his chest with one arm as he raced into the kitchen.

He quickly grabbed a clean mug from the counter and filled it with water, holding it up to Frisk's level so they could grab it and take a sip. Frisk sighed in relief as the water's coldness soothed their throat, the tang of blood being washed away and their throat clearing up a little. Papyrus waited for them to finish before setting them gently back down on the sofa and sitting down next to them. The couch shifted under the large skeleton's additional weight.

"FRISK… I HAVE TO ASK… HOW DID YOU GET THAT WOUND?" Papyrus asked nervously. "I FOUND YOU AFTER I HAD GONE WITH UNDYNE TO ALPHYS'S LAB AND NOTICED NO ONE WAS HOME AND I- WHY WAS THE MACHINE BROKEN LIKE THAT? WHERE IS SANS? HE NEVER LEAVES HIS LAB IN THAT KIND OF WRECK, UNLIKE HIS ROOM, AND I COULD TELL HE TRIED TO HEAL YOU BUT DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO FINISH IT."

Frisk's grip on the mug tightened, their hands turning white, and they glanced away. Their throat still felt sore, and they didn't know what to say. What to tell Papyrus about the fact that his only brother was gone forever.

How could they?

"…DOES YOUR THROAT STILL HURT? HUMANS AREN'T MADE OUT OF PURE MAGIC LIKE WE ARE, SO I HAD A BIT OF TROUBLE. IT SHOULD ONLY BE A SMALL SCAR THOUGH." Papyrus hopped up and ventured over to the table, coming back with a paper and a pencil. "HERE, THIS SHOULD WORK UNTIL YOU FEEL BETTER, RIGHT?"

Frisk weakly nodded, and released the mug with one hand, reaching out to accept the pencil. When Papyrus released it, Frisk's hand shook, and it clattered onto the floor.

"OH. ERM, YOU NEED TO HOLD ONTO IT." Papyrus said, his face set in a worried frown. He bent over and picked the pencil back up, giving it back to Frisk.

 _Thank you,_ Frisk wrote awkwardly. _For healing me._ They rolled the pencil in between their fingers staring at the worn-down nub of the eraser.

"NO NEED TO THANK ME, FRISK. WE'RE FRIENDS, SO OF COURSE I'D HELP YOU OUT!" Papyrus encouraged. He gently patted Frisk on the head with his gloved hand and flashed them a toothy grin. Frisk could tell he was trying to act cheerful, but his foot tapped the floor and his eyes followed Frisk's hand. "SO, CAN YOU MAYBE TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED? I BET MY BROTHER LEFT YOU ON YOUR OWN AGAIN, I MEAN REALLY, IF HE WENT TO GET HELP TO HEAL YOU HE COULD'VE DONE IT IN A MORE RESPONSIBLE WAY. THAT LAZY BONES SHOULD'VE JUST CALLED ME-"

The pencil scratched across the page.

_He's not coming back. I'm sorry._

"…WHAT DO YOU MEAN? FRISK?" Papyrus's body went stiff, and one hand wandered up to touch his scarf. "H-HEY, WHY AREN'T YOU WRITING ANY MORE? THAT'S- THAT'S NOT TRUE, RIGHT? MY BROTHER IS JUST PUTTING YOU UP TO A PRANK, RIGHT?"

Frisk's grip tightened on the pencil, and they turned their head away, their hair falling over their eyes.

"FRISK? FRISK, PLEASE, TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING."

_I'm sorry._

Papyrus fell silent from beside Frisk, and when he spoke again his voice had shrank from its usual boisterous tone into a small, quiet voice that didn't fit the skeleton at all. "WHERE IS MY BROTHER?"

Frisk hunched their shoulders and hesitatingly turned back to look up at Papyrus. The normally cheerful, confident skeleton looked lost, and his usual white color had turned into a grey hue. Did it matter if they told him now? Frisk had failed. The RESET would mean they were all alone now.

Sans was gone, and it was Frisk's fault. If they had just moved out of the way a little faster, if they had just gone with Sans, if they had just went back as soon as possible…

_Sans gave his life to save me. It's my fault he fell down. I can't fix this._

A soft whine came from Papyrus's throat, and his hand twitched, like he wanted nothing more than to snatch the paper Frisk was writing on and study it as if there was some hidden code hiding the truth on it. His eyes flickered, and Frisk saw a reflection of how they felt in Papyrus: something inside of him had broken, and he was oh so very lost.

Papyrus's hands gripped onto the red scarf tightly, and his head bowed. "OH GOD…" His voice cracked, and Papyrus's shoulders started shaking violently as the large skeleton's breath came in hiccups. "OH MY GOD, SANS…"

His tears weren't the quiet, somber tears Frisk often had; they were loud, raking gulps of air and hiccuping.

Frisk shrank in on themself, and slid off the sofa to back away from the scene. This was their fault, and they couldn't- they couldn't watch this. They had to leave _now._

Frisk turned and ran out of the house, banging open the door, heedless of the fact that they lacked any jacket as they plowed through the snow and out into the cold.

.

"…What are you doing out here in the woods?" Flowey asked curiously.

Frisk shivered, lifting their head up from their knees to blink at Flowey incomprehensibly. They shook their head, their throat still throbbing, and pulled their sweater's collar down so Flowey could see the mark.

The flower blinked, and tilted his head, considering the situation. "Golly, that looks painful. But did you fix your RESETS, at least?"

Frisk bit their lip and shrugged. They didn't know. They didn't feel any different, so maybe Gaster had come in after Sans had and…

They didn't want to think about it.

"Don't tell me I gave Sans some of my DETERMINATION for nothing." Flowey's eyes turned black, the mouth stretching into a gaping smile. "Speaking of, where _is_ that skeleton? From your behavior, did something maybe happen~?"

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut and shuddered.

"Oh? Then… I suppose it's just you, me, and Chara then, right?" Flowey's face lit up, and his vines slithered up to brush against Frisk´s skin. "Surely that past incident was a mistake, right? Chara didn't mean anything by it! We can just go back to our original plans, and- and you, too! Then the three of us won't be alone, Frisk! We need you, after all- and golly, doesn't that work out for you too? What is there left for you here?"

Frisk's hands moved before they could think, ripping the flower's vines from their skin and leaping to their feet. Flower and Frisk gazed at each other, Frisk's chest heaving, and Flowey's toothy grin never wavering. "It's okay, Frisk," the flower giggled. "Sans promised to protect you, didn't he? Well I can actually follow through on that, unlike that failure."

Vines burst from the ground, winding around Frisk's body in a smooth, serpentine motion, yanking taught when the human tried to flee. "Come on, Chara. I have your body secured, so you can come back to me, right? I've missed you so much…"

 _No! Let me go!_ Frisk tried to scream, but they tasted blood and their voice crackled in their throat, unfamiliar and not responding to their command. The vines chaffed against their skin, tightening until Frisk couldn't move, their arms pinned down to their sides. It was futile to struggle, and Flowey giggled again as Frisk whimpered. They thrashed one more time, but the vines tightened with every movement until it hurt to breathe.

Frisk squeezed their eyes shut, slumping and going limp as they let the vines hold them up instead.

Fine.

Frisk was done, okay? They were done.

What was the point anymore? What- what did they have to gain by doing this? They were tired of getting ready to give up and then pushing themself to continue over and over again. And- and wouldn't it be nice to not have to make decisions anymore? Frisk could just let go and go to sleep as Chara dealt with whatever problems persisted. Frisk would be free from this cycle of hopelessness.

 _But Sans gave his life for you_ , part of them argued. _You can't just let his sacrifice go to waste._

Frisk whimpered again. They were so tired though. And no one would come anymore, not with Sans gone, even if they called-

"FRISK!"

The vines immediately withdrew, Flowey hissing in annoyance and swiftly ducking out of sight, and Frisk fell backwards, straight into someone's arms. Hands squeezed them tightly, pulling them into an embrace, and a hand reached up to feel their forehead. "FRISK? YOU'RE NOT SICK AGAIN, ARE YOU? I- I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO, OKAY?"

Frisk's eyes slid open, and they gazed up at Papyrus for a moment in confusion as his words clicked.

Their eyes widened, and their lips moved, silently mouthing the question.

Papyrus went still, his eyes flickering for a moment before he picked Frisk up carefully. Tear tracts still marked his face, but he had still come.

...Why had he come?

Papyrus's footsteps crunched through the snow, and he didn't meet Frisk's gaze again as he silently studied the surroundings. They walked in silence for a while before Papyrus quietly started talking, his voice still rough from his crying.

"YOU- I-" He started, breaking off as his voice cracked. "I'M A HORRIBLE BROTHER." Frisk leaned their head against his chest, staring down at their hands. "I ALWAYS NITPICKED SANS, YOU KNOW? AND HE… HE ALWAYS CARED FOR ME. EVEN WHEN I PRETENDED TO TURN A BLIND EYE. I KNEW HE PRETENDED TO BE SANTA. I KNEW HE WATCHED OUT FOR ME AND WAS THE ONE TO PAY THE BILLS WITHOUT COMPLAINT. AND I- I NEVER TOLD HIM I KNEW THESE THINGS. WHAT- WHAT WAS THE POINT? I THOUGHT HE'D BE HAPPIER THAT WAY. HE SACRIFICED SO MANY THINGS FOR ME, AND IF HE KNEW HIS MAIN SACRIFICE FOR ME HADN'T WORKED… BUT I WAS A COWARD TO NOT TELL HIM, FRISK."

Papyrus shook his head, and a tear splattered onto Frisk's lap. "I SHOULDN'T HAVE KEPT THESE THINGS TO MYSELF. I SHOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO KEEP THESE SECRETS. I'M REALLY NOT GOOD AT PRETENDING, YOU KNOW. SANS WAS ALWAYS BETTER THAN ME AT THAT SORT OF THING. I SHOULD'VE TOLD SANS I UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WAS GOING THROUGH AND HELPED HIM THROUGH IT NOT- NOT PRETENDED THERE WAS NO ISSUE IN THE FIRST PLACE."

Frisk shifted, and they turned their head to meet Papyrus's gaze. The skeleton's eyes shifted, and he unlocked the door to his house with a click as he gently set Frisk down and wiped at his eyes. He still hadn't answered their question, so Frisk picked up the crumpled piece of paper and wrote the question again.

_Papyrus, do you remember the RESETS?_

"…I'M SORRY," Papyrus whispered, voice breaking. Frisk felt the world tilt out from under them, and Papyrus wiped at his eyes again as his shoulders shook. "I KNEW ALL ALONG."


	21. Chapter Twenty-one

_You knew?! This whole time?_

"YES."

 _Oh my god, Papyrus._ Frisk's pressure on the pencil caused the tip to snap off, and Frisk quickly snatched up a pen of red ink, the dark and messy handwriting splattering across the page. _I- I don't know what to write._

"NYEHEHE," Papyrus laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "WELL THAT WORKS, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY." Papyrus clasped his hands together, staring at his hands for a moment before quietly asking, "CAN'T YOU JUST RESET? YOU'VE DONE IT SO MANY TIMES BY NOW, RESETTING WOULD JUST- JUST BRING SANS BACK, RIGHT?"

_It's... complicated._

"WELL THEN, EXPLAIN IT TO ME! YOU CAN FIX THIS, CAN'T YOU?"  
 _I told you I couldn't!_ Frisk smudged red ink on their hand by accident and swiped their hand against their pants a few times, but the ink blotch wouldn't come off. God, they wanted to be able to speak at this moment. _…Look, Papyrus, if all of this is true, then you remember Gaster right?_

Papyrus's pupils shrank, and his gaze flicked up to Frisk's face. "YES."

_What happened to Sans was similar to that._

"O-OH." The two lapsed back into awkward silence, and then Frisk flipped the paper over to start writing on the back.

_Can I ask you something?_

Papyrus nodded, hesitant, and Frisk bit their lip, clutching the pen so hard in their grip it made their hand turn pale.

_When I first came to stay in this house- right after I killed you, right after I killed Sans- you were so nice to me. You even put me on your shoulders, and trusted me without flinching. …Why, Papyrus? What did I do to deserve that kind of kindness?_

"OH. T-THAT? I… I, HONESTLY I WAS A BIT SCARED OF YOU." Papyrus admitted. "BUT SANS TRUSTED YOU AS WELL, EVEN AFTER ALL OF THAT, YOU KNOW? AND I DIDN'T THINK YOU TRULY WANTED TO HURT ME EVER. YOU LOOKED SO SAD AT FIRST, AND I- I JUST KNEW YOU WERE A GOOD PERSON DEEP DOWN, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED. I SAW HOW SAD YOU WERE AFTER YOU KILLED YOUR FIRST MONSTER, AFER ALL- I WAS THE ONE TO FIND YOU! MAYBE, I REALIZED, YOU JUST NEEDED TO BE GIVEN A CHANCE? YOU HADN'T EVER HURT ANY OF US THE FIRST DOZENS OF TIMES SO… I…I..."

Frisk stared down at their knees, and tears started to make their vision swim. "A-AND IF- IF SANS REALLY GAVE HIS LIFE TO SAVE YOU LIKE THAT THEN- THEN CLEARLY I MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE IN THAT REGARD, AT LEAST?" Papyrus offered.

The silence grew again, and Frisk sighed. _So what now? Should I leave? I've just caused trouble here-_

"NO! I WOULDN'T EVER CHASE YOU OUT!" Papyrus refuted. "DON'T- PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE. THIS IS A REALLY BIG HOUSE AND YOU'VE PRACTICALLY LIVED HERE FOR A LONG TIME, SO MAYBE- MAYBE YOU CAN JUST MOVE IN HERE? YOU DON'T HAVE TO RESET ANYMORE, YOU CAN JUST LIVE WITH ME AS MY COUSIN! IN THIS TIMELINE EVERYONE ALREADY LIKES YOU SO- SO-"

_I don't know if that's possible. I might just keep RESETTING anyways._

"WHY NOT?" Papyrus whimpered. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND, FRISK. I COULD NEVER ASK THIS BEFORE, BUT WHY WERE YOU…?"

Frisk tilted their head, comprehension flitting through their mind. That was right… Papyrus didn't know the specifics of what was going on. How the skeleton had been okay with not understanding any of this and just going through the motions, Frisk didn't know. _I don't have enough paper to explain everything, but… Gaster is still here, Papyrus. And he's the one RESETTING, not me._

"THAT CAN'T BE TRUE. GASTER'S BEEN GONE FOR A LONG TIME!" Papyrus yelped, jumping to his feet. "YOU MUST BE MAKING A MISTAKE-"

A knock on the door caused both to freeze, and Papyrus broke off from his denial as his gaze shot towards the door, hope flitting through his eyes for a half second. Frisk shrank back, wrapping their arms around their knees.

"H-hey! Papyrus? Y-you said you wanted me to come check on y-your cousin!" A nervous voice called from outside. "Y-you said they h-hurt themself?"

Frisk and Papyrus exchanged another glance, and the skeleton reacted first. "ALPHYS?" Papyrus asked, racing over to the door. He yanked it open to reveal a shivering yellow lizard, whom anxiously smiled up at him and stepped inside. "I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU HERE SO SOON," Papyrus said. "WOWEE, YOU MUST BE FREEZING, COME IN!"

"W-well, I was w-worried. If your magic c-can't heal them, it must be serious, right?" Alphys stammered. She spotted Frisk and waved cheerfully, wandering over to them. "So what's w-wrong, Frisk?"

Papyrus followed her, looking lost, and stood behind her left shoulder as he hovered over Frisk. "THEIR THROAT… THEY HURT IT REALLY BADLY AND ERM, IT STILL HURTS AND THEY CAN'T SPEAK YET, RIGHT HU- COUSIN?"

Alphys didn't question Papyrus's stumble, and gently asked if she could look at Frisk's throat. Frisk nodded, not resisting and let her clawed hands gently pull their sweater down and away from their neck. They could feel Alphys hold her breath as she leaned close, gently feeling their throat. She hissed in pain at seeing the mark, and asked Frisk to open their mouth as she peered down their throat for a moment.

"I… oh... I-I'm sorry, but I n-need to know now… Frisk isn't r-really your cousin, are they?" Alphys asked, not meeting anyone's eyes. "T-they're a h-human, right?" Alphys seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere, and her head jerked up as she waved her hands. "I- I won't report them or a-anything! J-Just… this wound…"

Frisk nodded, and Alphys mouth pressed into a tight line. "I-I… oh man, I-I'm bad at t-this," she said distraughtly. "I d-don't think you d-did anything w-wrong, Papyrus, but humans h-have multiple s-systems that all w-work to make their b-bodies function. H-healing without any knowledge of how their body works is always d-dangerous because something might heal w-wrong, and then it c-can't be fixed without breaking it again, like a b-bone," Alphys stammered, trying to explain.

Papyrus stiffened, and his gaze met Frisk's eyes as he went ashy gray for the second time that day. "SO FRISK'S THROAT…? DID I HEAL IT WRONG?" Papyrus asked in horror.

"T-the bones and skin are f-fine!" Alphys reassured. She glanced at Frisk, pity in her gaze. "B-but whatever stabbed them c-cut their v-vocal chords t-too, which skeletons wouldn't k-know about in advance, and those weren't… weren't healed well."

Frisk froze, their breath catching in their throat as their hand went up to feel their throat. "I s-suppose we could try cutting their t-throat again and re-healing it b-but… I don't think it'll work," Alphys stammered. "I don't know enough about h-humans to do something that p-precise, not to mention..."

Silence pressed down, the elephant in the room large and blatant, and finally Frisk got up, stumbling over to root through the cupboards under the television. They finally found a scrap of clean paper, and wrote down the question no one was saying out loud.

_Am I going to die?_

"N-no! No," Alphys reassured. She sweated, looking at Papyrus, who had both hands pressed over his eyes. "Just… you might not be able to fully regain your v-voice?"

 _Oh._ Frisk stared at the piece of paper, and they suddenly felt tired. Would their RESET fix this injury? Maybe. Maybe not. _I'm going to go sleep,_ they wrote instead, setting the pen down. They hesitated, wondering where to go. Sans's room had been open to them lately, but with him gone and their frequent use of the sofa, it felt wrong to venture in there now.

They didn't want to see the pity in Alphys's eyes, or the bleak horror in Papyrus's.

"I-I'm sorry," Alphys stammered, shifting. She glanced uneasily at Papyrus, hesitating for a moment. "I should go…" She turned and quickly stepped out, glancing over her shoulder at Frisk and Papyrus, worry evident in her eyes.

The door swung shut behind her with a click, and Frisk quietly clambered back up onto the coach and curled up against Papyrus, falling into a deep sleep next to the subdued skeleton.

.

 **"Well now look what happened. I warned you,"** Chara scolded Frisk, legs swinging as they sat on the edge of the cliff.

Frisk glanced around their dream, and hesitantly spoke, testing out their voice. At least they could speak in their dreams, at least. "You didn't _warn_ me of anything," they said quietly, sitting down a good three feet away from Chara. "You just threatened me."

 **"And now you lost our voice. Well, that's just great, isn't it?"** Chara sneered. **"The only good thing that has come out of this is that skeleton is gone. There's no one watching your movements now except his annoying brother- and we both know how easy it is to get rid of him."**

"Why do you hate monsters so much?" Frisk asked quietly, resting their chin on their knee. "I understand humans, but… monsters haven't done anything to us."

Chara snorted. **"You say that like your life wasn't thoroughly ruined by one."** Chara's eyes softened for a moment, and they sighed. **"I just- I don't know, okay?"** Chara laughed wryly, shaking their head. **"It's not like I suddenly hated monsters one day I just- I was scared, at first. Scared of being loved, of being disappointed. Scared of my own feelings that grew as I met people that actually cared. And well, I learned that for each Love I gained I stopped feeling those troublesome things. I can just go have fun, and not have to be hurt by anyone anymore."**

Frisk turned and looked at Chara, surprised at getting such a direct answer. "You don't want to care for people?"

**"No. I don't. It's easier if you don't care about anyone- just look at you. Wouldn't it be better if you had never met Sans or cared for him? You wouldn't be hurting right now."**

"Maybe I could've once thought that," Frisk replied weakly. "But- but after all of this I _am_ glad that I fell down to the Underground, despite everything."

**"That makes no sense. You're** **_miserable_ ** **."**

"It was worse where I came from before all of… this." Frisk closed their eyes. "So. My body right now- what are you doing with it?"

Chara snorted. **"Nothing. I... It wouldn't feel right."** They laughed again, shaking their head. **"Damn it. Here I am, finally with a chance at a body, and yet… I'm going to let this chance go. For now. ...We're just too similar in the end, huh? I can't help but pity you."**

Frisk hesitantly scooted closer to Chara, sitting close enough so they could see the child's red eyes. "Yeah. I suppose we are," they quietly agreed. "If I had fallen first, I might've also…"

 **"Don't look at me like that. Don't you dare,"** Chara said flatly, eyeing Frisk. **"You just had the worst day of your life, and you don't have time to pity me. I don't need it. I'm the cause for a fair share of your grief, anyways."**

Frisk's shrugged. At this point, Chara was still the one that had shared this experience with them the longest other than Sans. Even after everything, after all the fear and hate, Frisk would try and forget that. Chara was just- just desperate.

 _Like Gaster?_ They wondered, their nails digging into their skin. _Could I forgive- or at least forget- what Gaster did as well?_

 **"So? What are you going to do now?"** Chara looked down at their feet, eyes narrowing as they stared flatly down at the world imagined below. **"I didn't tell you this, but… the virus on your RESETS… I think it's gone. You can leave now, you know? No need to hang around here anymore. Not that you have anywhere else to go, but. Well. "**

"W-what?!" Frisk forgot who Chara was, for just a second, grabbing their shoulders and leaning close before they remembered and quickly released Chara like they had been burned. "Is- is that true?"

 **"Yep. I get to go back to rotting down here alone and you can go forget about this entire mess,"** Chara sniffed, turning away. **"Congrats."**

Frisk stared at them with wide eyes, mind flickering through their options. "I- I can't," they whispered. "I can't leave. Not yet."

Chara spun around, eyes narrowing. They glowered at Frisk, their brown hair falling over their eyes. **"Don't be an idiot, Frisk. If you can RESET now, that means Gaster** ** _is alive._** **Get the hell out of here while you still can. Don't tempt me, okay? If you're going to throw your chances away like that, then maybe I** ** _should_** **just take your body for myself."**

Frisk shifted uneasily, and then finally smiled sadly and rubbed at their eyes. "N-no," they whispered. "No. For once I want to decide how things are going to end up myself." They looked up, eyes glinting. "And- and you know what? For the first time in the past two years worth of these RESETS, I finally feel DETERMINED again."

Before they could hear Chara's reply, Frisk woke up, sitting up with a gasp, throat throbbing and feeling dry. They glanced at Papyrus's quite sleeping form, his fingers tightly gripping his scarf even in his sleep.

They raised their hand, and the SAVE screen once again flared to life beneath their fingertips.

Frisk smiled in the darkness. It was about time.


	22. Chapter Twenty-two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small notice: This story is now fully up to date with what I've written.   
> So, the last two updates will be a bit longer in coming.  
> Thanks!

It was dark outside.

Frisk stumbled several times as they ran, chest heaving up and down, to Waterfall's caves to look around desperately. They could RESET right now, if they wanted to- but that wouldn't solve the root of the issue here. If they RESET, Sans would still be gone, Papyrus would still be heartbroken, and Gaster would still be a threat.

The door wasn't there, though.

Frisk stared at the blank wall, feeling slightly frustrated. _Where did Gaster go?_ They wondered, reaching up to feel the cool stone with one hand.

A hand was suddenly placed heavily down onto their shoulder and Frisk froze, going stiff.

"Hey, Frisk, what're you doing out here at this hour?!" Undyne demanded leaning down to Frisk's level. "Alphys said you weren't well, what do you think you're doing, wandering around by yourself?!"

Ah. It was just Undyne. Frisk, flustered, turned around and waved their hands as they gazed up at the monster.

The fish-woman sighed. Clearly she had heard about Frisk's issue, but she didn't directly address it, to their relief. "Yeah, I know, I know. You can take care of yourself and all that. But Alphys said she was worried and wanted to know where Sans was- Papyrus and you looked like you needed some help."

Frisk turned their head away, studying the wall again.

"Hey, I know! I was just heading back from the Lab- Alphys and I held an anime marathon while the doc was working, like usual. Why don't you head back to my house for now? I can call Papyrus or Sans and let 'em know you're safe."

 _...doc?_ Frisk whipped their head around so fast they almost hurt their neck. They tugged on Undyne's hand, pulling her back in the direction of the Lab as they peered up at her hopefully.

"What? You want to go to see Alph?"

Frisk nodded, looking at Undyne hopefully.

"Huh. Fine, bestie, but just for you. After that, you should come back to my place so you don't get any worse- I just finished rebuilding, too! You should see my new kitchen! My stove can get TWICE as hot now!"

Undyne let them pull her along to the Lab, and Frisk's mind raced as they skidded to a stop, Undyne standing next to them. It wasn't as hot in the Hotlands during the night time, but it was so humid both Undyne and Frisk were gasping for breath. They reached up and hit the button, the doors sliding open to the building and cold air flooding out. Frisk took a deep breath, aware of the hour but eager to see if their suspicions were correct.

After all, the inside of the building looked _different_.

There were still one or two anime posters on the walls, but the desk was in immaculate shape and the entire lab had a more sterile, clean appearance similar to the last time Frisk had been there. Alphys was at the desk, writing something down, and looked up in surprise, her glasses almost falling off of her nose.

"A-ah, Undyne! Y-you're back? What do you need- F-frisk?" She stuttered, sliding off the chair and coming over. "W-what's wrong? I- I mean… other t-than… erm…" Alphys looked between the two of them, at a loss. "I. I'll just. Go get some paper and a pen for you," she squeaked, racing back to the desk and shifting through the piles of paper. She made a mess as she did it, papers fluttering every which way to the floor, until she finally found a clean sheet and a pen to present to Frisk.

Frisk looked around, then took the paper and knelt on the floor so they had a flat surface to write on. _Thanks._

"N-no problem," Alphys stammered. "B-but why are you here at this hour? W-where's Papyrus and S-Sans? Is your throat-"

[That's enough, Alphys.] A smooth voice cut in, the door to the escalator sliding open. [I'd imagine they are here to see me.]

"Dr. Gaster- I-I'm s-sorry, did we disturb y-you?" Alphys asked nervously, wringing her hands together.

Frisk froze, staring down at the paper as black shoes came into their view.

[No. I observed on the cameras we had a visitor.] Frisk glanced up, shrinking back a little as they saw Gaster towering over them, clipboard in hand. The skeleton was… almost the same as Frisk had last seen him. The strange, ethereal form Frisk had first met was nowhere to be seen, and Gaster looked interested at the human sitting at his feet.

"Oh! That's right, Dr. G, you haven't met Frisk yet, huh?" Undyne said cheerfully. "If you'd have come out of your lab for longer than two seconds, you might've met them earlier- they've actually been living with Papyrus and Sans for the past month!"

[Oh?] Gaster adjusted his glasses, and sighed. [So? Where is Sans, then?] His eyes narrowed in knowing thoughtfulness and he seemed to take Frisk's unmoving stare as some kind of confirmation. […I see. Well, thank you Alphys, but you are excused from work tonight. Don't worry about- Frisk, was it?- I discerned ahead of time they would be coming to see me.]

"W-wha-? But…"

"Come on, Alph, let's head back to my place then if you have the night off!" Undyne shouted cheerfully. "Hey, this is a rare occasion that Gaster doesn't have you working! We should go have fun and finish that anime marathon!"

"B-but… but Frisk…" Alphys stammered, casting a pleading glance at Gaster, who merely stared back at her.

[I am aware of their species, Alphys. You need not concern yourself with those kind of thoughts. They will be fine,] Gaster stated calmly, tilting his head.

Undyne finally managed to convince Alphys to leave with her, convinced Frisk was in great hands, and the two left, leaving Gaster and Frisk alone, each studying the other occupant in the room.

Frisk's grip tightened on the pen and they stood, backing away from Gaster in measured steps. They hadn't protested as Undyne and Alphys had left, because they knew just as well as Gaster that this conversation needed to be private.

Gaster was silent, and he circled around Frisk once before speaking. [The last I saw of you was after Sans forcefully dragged me away from my life's work,] Gaster said, light reflecting off of his glasses so Frisk couldn't read the expression on his face. [I've always wondered when I would encounter you again. When you showed up a month ago, however, Sans was still around so I knew you hadn't yet interfered with the Core, and I still needed to wait.]

Frisk eyed Gaster wearily, mind reeling. So Sans did manage to SAVE him after all. Then- then this might work, right? Gaster might still know how the RESETS worked!

_I need your help to SAVE Sans._

Gaster glanced at the sheet of paper, studying it for a moment. He sighed, one hand briefly pressing to his forehead. [Whatever you two went back for, I assume you greatly changed the present.] He formulated, putting his arm back down and turning, his lab coat swishing behind him as he walked away and motioned for Frisk to follow him as he stepped back into the elevator. Frisk hesitated for only a second, taking a deep breath. No matter the consequences to this, Frisk knew they had chosen to do this. They would see it through.

[The Sans I knew only got back after the explosion, unaware of his own ashes which I found besides a puddle of human blood,] Gaster said quietly, not looking at Frisk as the elevator hummed and started descending. [I have… attempted to try and figure out how and why these events happened, but was unable to formulate any hypotheses that fit all of the known facts. My experiments with DETERMINATION started to produce inconclusive results, and I started hoping that you would be the next human that fell down here to explain this peculiar phenomenon. Instead, with every human that came, I delivered their SOUL to the King after recording any notable information. Sans left me with P02 in tow after the fourth human's fall, and ever since then I have had Alphys come join me as my assistant. She always had shown some promise, at least.]

Gaster glanced down at Frisk for a moment before he wrote something on the clipboard again. [Eventually, I speculate that my Sans and your Sans became the same person. Time seems to have a certain way of making sure interference doesn't change things too much. These events- how much matches up with the reality you remember?]

The doors slid open, and Gaster stepped out into the corridor, Frisk following just behind him. Gaster pulled out more sheets of paper, and carefully placed them on a table in front of Frisk. [Now. Write,] he said, sitting down and crossing his arms.

Frisk stared back at the skeleton and then leaned over the paper, going to work.

.

[Fascinating,] Gaster said, holding the paper up to his face. [I never would have imagined the Core had those properties- hmmm.] A peculiar expression crossed over his face, and he sighed, kneeling down in front of Frisk. [It seems that I have wronged you, human. Although I cannot say I would have changed what happened, my apologies for the unneeded stress I seem to have caused. Normally I try to be more…. humane about my experimentations.]

Frisk shrugged. They were relieved to see this version of Gaster was more reasonable, but they didn't entirely trust him yet, either.

[Well. First things first. I need to teach you Wing Dings.]

_Wing Dings?_

[A type of sign language I created for S01 and P02 to communicate to me with. It somehow spread in the Underground, so although most monsters do not use it everyday, it is generally understood. Writing is a cumbersome method of communication, after all.]

 _Why is that important for me to learn?_ Frisk wrote, and Gaster stood up to glance over their shoulder as they wrote.

[Because, human, as I said, I researched DETERMINATION for a long time. I am almost at a breakthrough, but I am missing something vital- a human with a large enough source of DETERMINATION and a few last pieces of information.] A small smile finally appeared, and Gaster turned to walk over to his computer. [If we are to SAVE Sans, my assistant for this project needs a more effective way of communication with me than writing.]

Frisk froze, eyes widening. _You- You're willing to help me?_

[Why wouldn't I? From the looks of it, you SAVED me from quite the traumatic fate. And… I know that I have wronged both you and Sans in both this and other timelines. Whether you believe this or not, I am not some monster without any feelings. Sans and Papyrus, as they named themselves later on, are both creations that I am very proud of. One day, they will carry the mark of my creation past my own time. One of them dying before I do does not sit right with me.] Gaster adjusted his glasses, typing something into the computer. [Anyways, this entire project seems to be quite interesting.]

.

(Gaster, wait!) Frisk signed quickly, jerking away. (That needle looks like it'll hurt!)

[Don't be ridiculous, this needle is miniscule,] Gaster grumbled, pulling Frisk's arm back towards him. [I need to take another sample of your DETERMINATION and you know just as well as I do that this is the easiest way to do it.]

It had been several weeks since Frisk had started working with Gaster. It hadn't been exactly the easiest thing to do, as Gaster demanded perfection and easily got frustrated whenever Frisk messed up, and Frisk had been so busy most of the time they had slept on one of the spare beds from the Amalgamate disaster, as Gaster called it. Some things hadn't changed, after all.

Flowey, Chara, and Papyrus both remembered the same things Frisk did, although the former two remained largely silent on the matter. Frisk was glad. They didn't want to run into Flowey again just yet.

Papyrus was… not doing very well. He was a shadow of his former cheerful self, and drifted in and out of the lab with uneasy looks at Gaster, unable to remember the past years where Gaster had been in his life. Alphys and Undyne said Gaster wasn't that bad of a monster actually, just very meticulous about his work, but any interactions with Papyrus proved awkward to say the least.

Gaster told Undyne and Alphys that Sans had had to go away for a while, but neither seemed to believe it with the way Papyrus was acting. Undyne eventually took him under her wing for a while, keeping an eye on him in her house instead of leaving him to his own purposes.

Frisk tried not to take note of all of the differences and similarities left behind from the effects of Gaster's presence. There were so many small and large things that it just made their head hurt. Mettaton, for one, was no longer a celebrity. He was just a robotic guard, with extremely dangerous abilities which Gaster had overseen Alphys build.

Asgore and Gaster where surprisingly close friends, and at times Frisk couldn't help but wish that this was the Underground they had first entered. Things weren't…. weren't better, per say, but they weren't worse either. They were just… different. If this had been the original Underground, then Gaster never would have figured out the secrets of the RESET though, and Frisk wouldn't have lost Sans.

Hmm. Speaking of which, maybe Frisk shouldn't be helping Gaster figure that out, but it was too late now.

Frisk held still, sucking in their breath as they watched Gaster summon their SOUL and take hold of it. It tingled a little bit, and Frisk could feel their HP fall a few points, but it wasn't too bad.

Several times, Frisk had fallen asleep on the counter while working, and they had woken up with a blanket over their shoulders even when Alphys had been out all day. Frisk was still wary of Gaster- it was hard to forget everything that had happened- but… But Frisk couldn't really bring themself to hate anyone.

And maybe that was a good thing. Because that had been what Frisk had always been like, from the first time they opened their eyes and saw golden flowers laying scattered around them. Despite everything, Frisk hadn't changed all that much, like they had feared.

Gaster finally sighed, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes with one hand. [All right, Frisk,] he said softly, looking up. [I have the solution but- well. Statistically speaking, the news isn't very good. But yes. If you look at the numbers and calculations then Sans can indeed be SAVED.]


	23. Chapter Twenty-three

(You're sure?) Frisk asked, their breath catching in their throat.

Gaster turned and gave them an unimpressed stare. [Since when have I ever made a joke or said information that was not proven? Yes. I am sure.]

(How long would it take?) Frisk signed, their SOUL pulsing slightly as it hovered right above their chest, called forth by their emotions. (Do we need to build a machine again?)

[No. Frisk, have you heard of the term a 'TRUE RESET?']

(…no. Is that different from a normal RESET?)

Gaster nodded, taking a sip of the coffee he often carried around with him. [Indeed. A regular RESET is a simple 'second chance,' so to speak. To put it simply, if RESETS were equated to a board game, it would RESET the pieces of a board game back to the start, but that doesn't mean the players have forgotten the last game's results. So if you, say, misplace a piece, then even if you start a new game, that game's set is already permanently changed.]

Frisk blinked, and nodded, relieved Gaster was sparing them from the more complicated educational side of this. (And? A TRUE RESET changes this?)

[Correct. A TRUE RESET would be going out and buying an entirely new game set. No one but you would remember this, Frisk. You would wake up and it would truly be the same as the first time you arrived to the Underground.]

Frisk blinked, surprised. (Is it really that simple?) They studied Gaster, and then realization sunk in. (Wait. If that's true, then you'd still be…)

[Exactly. I wouldn't remember this entire experiment anymore than Sans would. So this brings me to part two of my studies,] Gaster said, picking up a clipboard and flipping through the pieces of paper. [DATA FILES. A set of congruous numbers and letters that are found in the fabric of the void. Somehow, they control every single movement and choice in the Underground. All of the monsters and the world around you have numbers which correlate to them. Do you understand, Frisk? With these numbers, anyone who accesses them can become a God of sorts. It would take years to figure out even the simplest of numbers, but I'd imagine that my alternate self had more than a suitable amount of time to himself there to slip in and change the controls to RESETS.]

Frisk swallowed, their throat dry. The quickly signed back at Gaster, hope shining in their eyes. (And have you figured out how to bring Sans back alone?)

[…No.] Gaster pushed his glasses up and sat down, studying his notes for a long moment. [But I have figured out how to change the TRUE RESET to RESET all the pieces… and leave the memories as they were for those of us who can remember RESETS. I would remember all of this, of course, so I wouldn't try and stop you anymore. But…] Gaster sighed, and raised his head, staring at Frisk with a steely gaze. [Frisk, all of my research. All of this you see, everything I've worked on all of this time. It would be gone. From what you've said, I would be an insubstantial being that exists outside of time and space itself, both here and not here because my particles are so far scattered across the realms that I nearly cease to exist.]

Frisk froze, eyes widening. (What? There's no other way?)

[I've calculated this dozens of times, Frisk. I am positive.]

(Oh.) The two lapsed into silence again, and Frisk tapped their foot nervously. (…I-I can't ask that of you.)

Gaster didn't reply, turning back to his notes to keep writing. [I will keep looking for a solution that doesn't require this,] he said shortly.

Frisk nodded, lost in thought, and got up, wandering over to the elevator and absently getting in and riding up to the first floor.

Alphys was watching anime on the large TV with Papyrus and Undyne, three beanbags dragged out to sit in front of the screen so they all had places to sit. Undyne was aggressively munching on a bowl of popcorn, intensely watching the heroine of the show fend off a robot with a spear.

Papyrus was also watching, but he looked distracted, shifting every so often and sighing. His head turned as the elevator doors slid open, and his expression brightened somewhat. "FRISK!" He pushed himself up, striding over to greet the human. "HOW ARE YOU? IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE SEEN YOU OUT OF THE LABS," he added awkwardly.

(I'm good,) Frisk signed back, smiling gently up at him. (Just a bit tired.)

"D-didn't Dr. Gaster say he was close to a breakthrough two days ago?" Alphys asked curiously, pausing the show and also coming around to look. "I m-mean, I don't know what you guys were working on, b-but… Dr. Gaster only s-says something like that when he knows he's close."

Papyrus, the only other inhabitant that was aware of Frisk's request to Gaster, stiffened, eyes widening. He grabbed Frisk by the shoulders, his body tensing. "IS THAT TRUE? CAN YOU- I MEAN, WELL- HAVE YOU FIGURED OUT HOW TO BRING SANS BACK?"

Frisk drew back a little, hesitating. Was it really fair to tell Papyrus that they had figured out a way to save Sans but might not do it anyways? But looking into Papyrus's hopeful, desperate gaze, they just couldn't bring themself to lie. (Yes, but… we're working on a better plan.)

"What do you mean 'bring Sans back?'" Undyne asked, frowning. Her eye narrowed, and she studied Papyrus. "Paps… where did Sans go?"

Papyrus shook his head, the red scarf still loyally draped around his neck fluttering side to side. "WE DON'T NEED A BETTER PLAN. IF YOU HAVE ANY CHANCE OF IT WORKING, THEN PLEASE, FRISK. I WANT MY BROTHER BACK."

(I-) Frisk sighed. (That's not my call, Papyrus. It- this plan would sacrifice Gaster. I can't ask that of him. It wouldn't be fair,) they signed. (Look, we're going to bring him back, okay? Just wait a little longer.)

Papyrus stared at Frisk, his eyes searching theirs. "…YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO ASK GASTER," he said quietly, eyes sharpening. "BUT I CAN."

(What? Papyrus, wait!) Frisk tried to grab his arm as he brushed by them, but he gently caught their hand and shook his head with a small sad smile.

"I'VE BEEN WITH MY BROTHER FOR THIS LONG," Papyrus said. "I'M NOT LEAVING HIM FOR DEAD NOW."

"Dead? Papyrus, what the hell…?" Undyne whispered, hands covering her mouth.

"Oh my god, Papyrus, Sans is…? A-Are you okay?!" Alphys squeaked, eyes widening in horror.

Papyrus shook his head, and quickly pushed the button to the elevator.

(Wait! I want to come, at least,) Frisk signed quickly, jumping into the elevator just as the doors started to close.

Undyne and Alphys both were whisked out of view, and Papyrus crossed his arms, looking down sheepishly. "YOU CAN'T CONVINCE ME NOT TO ASK," he said quietly.

(I'm not going to,) Frisk signed back. (I want him back just as much as you do, Papyrus, okay? We're in this together.)

"HEH. THANKS, FRISK." Papyrus rubbed their head once, effectively messing up their hair, and stepped out of the elevator.

Gaster was still working, and he looked up as the two entered. [Yes?] He asked curiously.

Papyrus's eyes darted back to Frisk once more, and then he took a deep breath, straightening his spine so he towered over the sitting Gaster. "FRISK TOLD ME ABOUT THE RESULTS OF YOUR RESEARCH."

[I see,] Gaster said, taking his glasses off and setting them on the table. He arched an eyebrow at Frisk, annoyed and unimpressed. [Did I not tell you I prefer not shouting the results of my work to everyone in the vicinity?]

(Yes. But Papyrus isn't everyone.)

Gaster turned his gaze back to Papyrus, and he sighed. [That is true. So, go on. What did you need to know so urgently?]

Papyrus hesitated, and then plowed ahead. "I… I WANT TO ASK YOU TO BRING SANS BACK WITH THE METHOD YOU FOUND. PLEASE," he asked, his voice cracking a little.

[Did Frisk tell you the effects that this would have? Everything?]

"YES."

Gaster's eyes narrowed, and he stood. [Come now, Papyrus, do not act like a child. This isn't just about what you want.]

Papyrus swallowed, and shook his head. "I- I'M NOT ACTING LIKE A CHILD, GASTER. I'VE NEVER HAD TIME TO ACT LIKE A CHILD, AFTER EVERYTHING THAT YOU… I MEAN…" Papyrus stumbled over his words, and Frisk gently reached out and took one of his hands, a quiet reassurance. Papyrus glanced down and Frisk could've sworn his smile returned for a moment at them. "SANS GAVE HIS LIFE UP FOR YOU, GASTER. FOR ONCE, PLEASE, DO SOMETHING FOR HIM IN RETURN."

Gaster stiffened. [Out,] he ordered tersely. [I don't appreciate someone with a lower status ordering me around, Sentry Papyrus. Leave my sight.]

Papyrus glared back for a moment before his shoulders drooped. Frisk tried to sign a few reassurances, but Papyrus shook his head and brushed by them. Frisk was left watching his back as he stepped back into the elevator, and they wondered what Alphys and Undyne were going to say.

(Was that necessary?) Frisk demanded, but Gaster just waved them off.

[You too,] Gaster said flatly. [Out, Frisk.]

Frisk cast a dark frown over their shoulder as they left, finding one of the spare beds and climbing into it. The Endogeny was lying at the foot of the bed, and it hopefully nosed at Frisk's hand as they sat down.

Frisk at first didn't respond, but as the white dog amalgamate whined hopefully they gave in, scratching its ears as they gazed off in the direction of Gaster.

.

[Frisk.] A hand shook Frisk's shoulder and they rolled over, pulling the covers up to their deck and squeezing their eyes shut. [ _Frisk._ Get up.]

Frisk blinked, sitting up and rubbing their eyes. Gaster was standing beside their bed, foot tapping and looking impatient.

(What time is it?) Frisk asked, suppressing a yawn.

[No idea. That's not important, though, I need you to access the RESET screen and take me to it.]

Frisk squinted at Gaster, confused, and pulled out their phone. The glow hurt their eyes, and the clock on it read 3:13 am in bright green accusatory digits. Well, it wasn't the weirdest time Gaster had worked in the past few weeks.

(All right,) Frisk signed back, clicking the phone shut. They raised their hand, and the bright yellow SAVE option flared to life beneath their fingers.

[No, not that screen. The RESET one,] Gaster stressed. Frisk blinked, confused, and then understanding hit them.

(…What are you planning, Gaster?) They asked.

[Just do it. I'll explain it there.]

Frisk hesitantly reached over and grabbed ahold of Gaster's jacket and took a deep breath before activating it. The feeling of falling enveloped them again, and Gaster and Frisk fell back into the void.

This time, the darkness wasn't tugging at Frisk, though. They were now in control, and they had a right to be here. Frisk easily traversed the darkness they had previously struggled through, and Gaster followed.

They stopped in front of the two glowing options of RESET and QUIT, and Frisk turned expectantly to look at Gaster. (Well?)

Gaster, already preoccupied, had wandered over and raised his hand. White lines of numbers and letters appeared in front of them, glowing softly. Gaster moved his hand higher, eyes flicking side to side. [Here we are,] he said, touching some of the numbers. With a few flicks of his fingers, the order of two lines was changed, and Gaster let the white numbers fade away.

He turned, glancing at the RESET option, and the words changed in front of Frisk's eyes. TRUE RESET appeared in blazing white light, and Frisk backed up, suddenly apprehensive. (…Gaster?) They asked, (What are you…?)

Gaster turned to face them, and Frisk saw his white pupils flickering softly in his eye sockets. [I suppose I was meant to become part of the Void. I am unaware of the consequences of changing the past, Frisk, but if there is something… well. That would be most unpleasant.]

(So you're… you're going to do as Papyrus asked?) For the second time, the skeleton astonished Frisk, and they gazed at him in shocked awe. (But you… you're okay with that?!)

[I do not use such ideas of sentimentality,] Gaster replied softly. [But the Void presents an interesting place of study. It wouldn't be that bad. Besides, someone does have to look over the Underground after the powerful monsters leave. The RESETS pose an important question and threat to the fate of monster kind, and I am curious to explore what created them and why it only affects those who have been in the Underground recently.]

Frisk tilted their head. Gaster didn't want to show his feelings, they surmised, but still. They hesitantly approached the scientist, and hugged him, their head only reaching his waist.

(Thank you.)

Gaster gazed down at them, his eyes flickering. [You have nothing to thank me for.]

And the world went through a TRUE RESET.

.

Chara stared down at the sleeping child's form and sighed. They ran a hand through their hair, a shade lighter than Frisk's own, and started to pace as they thought.

This was probably going to be the last RESET, after all.

On one hand, Chara could quietly latch back onto Frisk's SOUL, a free ride to the surface. They could slowly eat away at Frisk's control and take the body by force.

It would be easy.

And yet they were hesitating. Hesitating because somewhere, somehow, Chara had come to- to what? Care for this human? Maybe. Maybe not. It was more of an understanding, Chara supposed. They just didn't think they had it in them to do anything else to Frisk after everything they'd been through together.

In the end, Frisk and Chara were very similar… except Frisk that had what Chara did not. Kindness. Compassion. A will to never give up and take the easy way out.

Chara laughed, shaking their head. Honestly, they were a little bit envious of Frisk. If they had met when Chara first fell down to the Underground, they might've been amazing best friends.

But these were a bunch of should've-would've-could've been questions, and right now Chara had a choice to make.

Glowing red eyes turned back to the question at hand, and Chara waited in the darkness, weighing their options.

.

Frisk woke up among the golden flowers, sitting up and staring up at the hole in the ceiling.

It was the last time they would probably ever have this view, and the thought made their heart pound frantically in their chest, excitement and nervousness shooting through their system at once.

Quickly confirming the presence of the SAVE screen, Frisk sighed in relief. Everything so far looked like it was going well, for once in Frisk's life.

It was unfortunate that DATA FILES didn't have information for humans in them, for some reason, so Frisk's throat still wasn't healed. It never would be. But if that was the only lasting mark of this entire disaster, Frisk was all right with that. At least most monsters could communicate with them.

Now all they had to do was see if Sans was back, save the Underground, and help get monsterkind back up to the surface.

No biggie. Frisk had already faced much harder trials, after all.

They smiled and stepped into the next room to meet Flowey.

.

Flowey sat in the darkness, pondering the information that had just been given to him.

He smiled in the darkness, laughter bubbling from his lips. Chara was going to be with him again.

Finally, _Chara was going to be with him again!_

Flowey had never fully understood Chara's actions, and they still managed to surprise him to this day.

Well, fine. If Chara wanted Flowey to go through this RESET like the first time Frisk had come to the Underground, then he would.

His best friend had given him this small request, after all. And who was Flowey to refuse?

.

Frisk glanced back behind them, wondering why Flowey was acting like he had forgotten everything. The thought bothered them.

They were being careful to go through the paces, taking genuine interest in interacting and making friends with all of the monsters again. They complimented Toriel's pie, nodded seriously as they listened to the Froggits, and were determined not to hurt anyone this run. They were DETERMINED to make this run the one that was permanent.

Nevertheless, all of that effort would be for nothing if Flowey somehow didn't remember anything. Because behind this door would hopefully be Sans, and if somehow Gaster's plan hadn't worked and no one remembered Frisk, they would have to go through everything all over again and Frisk really, really didn't want to do that.

 _Come on, Frisk,_ they told themself sternly. _You'll never know if you don't open the door. So open the door._

Frisk took a deep breath, heart hammering in their chest. Their fingers reached out, brushing against the cold surface of the Ruins' doors, and with a soft push, the doors swung open.

Frisk blinked as the bright snow temporarily blinded them, then squinted and looked through the trees.

They heard him before they saw him, footsteps crunching into the snow, and their breath stopped in their throat as a familiar shape stepped out from behind a tree and onto the path ahead of them.

Before Frisk knew it, they were racing towards Sans, leaping into his arms to hug him tightly as the pressed their face into his jacket and started crying out of happiness, tears making their eyes swim as they grinned up at the skeleton.

Sans's eyes softened, and he grinned back. "heya kiddo. you must've been really bonely without me around, huh?"  
Frisk hugged him tighter, burying their face back into his hoodie as they started to sob with relief.

Sans awkwardly patted their back, and the two set off, walking back down the path and finally walking forwards to greet the future.

Chara, watching from the distance with a flower at their side, turned their face away just as the skeleton placed his jacket around Frisk's shoulders. They had already made their choice, after all. They slid down the trunk of the tree to sit on the ground, unable to feel the chill from the snow underfoot.

The flower turned to face them, adoration and joy on his face, and Chara exhaled. They tilted their head and tiredly smiled back.

Even if Chara was fated to stay in the Underground forever, it wouldn't be so bad. At least they had someone to keep them company.


	24. Chapter Twenty-four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the end.  
> Thank you for reading. <3

That morning, Sans had woken himself up by promptly falling out of his bed.

He had been dreaming of RESETS long since past when the sun, streaming in from his window, had made him groan and reach over to pull the sheets up over his head. He was expecting the normal un-tucked and disheveled nest to easily give way, but a weight on the sheets had made it impossible this time.

Sans cracked one eye open, disoriented and temporarily blinded by the light, only to find Papyrus asleep at the foot of his bed, his head cradled in his arms. He must have fallen asleep waiting for Sans to wake up.

That was weird. Sans didn't remember Papyrus ever doing this in the RESETS-

Sans eyes widened, his breath hitching in his throat, and he jerked, trying to sit up but still so entangled in the sheets that he instead slipped and fell off of his bed, crashing to the floor and waking Papyrus up in the process.

"WOWEE, SANS?!" Papyrus yelped, scrambling to his feet and reaching over to help him up. The taller skeleton leaned over to offer Sans a hand, concern clear in his gaze. "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?"

"wha-?" Sans stared back at him, not moving, before he hesitantly reached up and accepted Papyrus's hand and letting himself get pulled up into a standing position. "yeah, i'm fine…uh… what's the date of today, paps?" He inquired, forcing his voice not to shake.

When Papyrus told him, Sans stared back, mind reeling. Somehow, it was the day Papyrus was supposed to be burning spaghetti right around now. The day Frisk fell down to the Underground.

How the hell did the kid manage to bring Sans back? He was sure of his calculations. He should've been dead for good.

This didn't make any sense.

"erm… paps? why are you, uh, in my room? you hate coming in here," Sans commented."it's uh... it's a mess," Sans realized, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Papyrus hesitated, his eyes flicking to Sans's face for a moment. "I HAD TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE ACTUALLY BACK."

Sans froze, forcing himself to keep his poker face. "back? back from where?" Sans asked warily, a drip of sweat falling down his face.

Papyrus bowed his head, taking a deep breath despite the fact that skeletons didn't actually need to breathe. "YOU _DIED_ , SANS. YOU- YOU LEFT ME ALL ALONE. MAYBE FOR THE RIGHTS REASONS BUT I… YOU KNOW WHAT, I HAVE A LOT TO TELL YOU. MAYBE WE CAN HAVE THIS TALK OVER BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI?"

Sans's mouth opened, but no sound came out. His white pupils flickered in and out of existence, and he jerkily nodded. "uh… okay. breakfast sounds good," he muttered.

What the hell had happened while Sans was asleep?

.

"whoah whoah whoah, hold the phone," Sans spluttered.

"SANS, I'M NOT USING MY PHONE RIGHT NOW."

"no, not that paps- i- uh, what?" Sans gazed at Papyrus in befuddled shock. "paps, you _knew_?"

Papyrus rubbed the back of his head, hesitantly sheepish. "SANS, I'M SORRY I DIDN'T TELL YOU. I DIDN'T THINK YOU WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT IT AND I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER AFTER ALL OF THE NAGGING I'VE DONE FOR YOU TO OPEN UP BUT STILL I-"

Sans promptly did something he had sworn to never, ever do under any circumstances.

He swore in front of Papyrus.

Loudly.

"UH… SANS?" Papyrus reached out, hesitating for only a second before touching his shoulder. "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, BROTHER?"

"all right? all right i'm… i'm fine. just that i've been trying for god knows how long to hide all of this from you so you wouldn't worry and in the end that did absolutely nothing," Sans grunted. "great. fantastic. i'm fine."

The two lapsed into a silence, and Sans let out a hoarse, short bark of laughter. "geez, papyrus, we've both been bottling our emotions up so much that we completely misunderstood each other. uh, wow. that wasn't a good thing."

Papyrus glanced away. "I-I KNOW," he said miserably. "I WASN'T THINKING STRAIGHT. I DIDN'T- WELL. I GUESS YOU KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING."

"that goes for me too." Sans pushed the spaghetti around his plate for a moment more before he sighed. "but uh… thanks," he said awkwardly. "for asking to… to bring me back. gaster really did that?"

"I THINK HE DID AT LEAST," Papyrus frowned, tapping his jaw. "HE GOT MAD AT ME FOR ASKING, SO ONLY FRISK WAS WITH HIM BEFORE EVERYTHING RESET. YOU'LL HAVE TO ASK THEM ABOUT IT."

"huh. didn't think he had it in him," Sans muttered. He sighed, and then looked up at Papyrus before grinning at him. "anyways, paps, it seems that i hurt you with that stupid stunt. i'm uh, really sorry for all that."

Papyrus grinned, bittersweet joy in his eyes. "NO PROBLEM, BROTHER." He hugged Sans and Sans stiffened for a moment before he relaxed, accepting the hug. Eventually, Sans gently tapped Papyrus on the shoulder and the two separated.

"so, uh, we should have a day until frisk gets here and we can move on," Sans said thoughtfully. "is there anything you wanna do, paps?"

"WE NEED TO RECALIBRATE THE PUZZLES OF COURSE!" Papyrus declared. "IF THIS IS THE LAST TIME I GET TO DO THIS, THEN MY PUZZLES MUST BE IN EXQUISITE CONDITION SANS."

"heh. fine, whatever you say, bro."

.

"AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM GOING TO CAPTURE THIS HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted.

Frisk shrugged, not having bothered to hide behind the lamp this time, and Sans, standing besides them as he watched the entire scene with amusement, snickered.

"OR AT LEAST, I AM GOING TO CAPTURE THIS HUMAN'S HEART IN FRIENDSHIP!"

"paps, there's no one else around. what exactly are you trying to accomplish with this?"

"SHUT UP, SANS, I AM TRYING TO SET THE MOOD HERE."

Frisk raised their eyebrows and shrugged. (Oh, come on Sans. Papyrus is just-)

"FRISK DON'T YOU DARE-"

(-getting into his human-hunting femur.) Frisk finished with a wink at Sans, who quirked an eyebrow in response as his grin grew.

"NGHAAAAAAA! HUMAN! THAT WAS NOT NECESSARY!" Papyrus screeched, but his mouth quirked up into a big grin. Seeing the two smirks directed in his direction, his eyes narrowed. "DON'T YOU DARE SAY ANYTHING, SANS."

"but bro i was only-"

"DO NOT."

"oh come on, paps, you're still smiling."

"I AM AWARE SANS. NOW, IF YOU WILL PLEASE JUST LET ME GET THROUGH MY INTRODUCTION SO WE CAN COMMENCE WITH THE BONDING PUZZLES?" Papyrus asked, exasperated. With Sans back, it was like he had never left, although Sans had told Frisk he was busy filling Papyrus in with all of the puns he missed while Sans was away.

Next, as Frisk followed the brothers through the snowy forest, they pulled Sans's coat close to their neck. Their breath came in puffs of white, but they felt very warm and content despite the frigid weather. It was a welcome feeling.

Walking in the snow, they watched Sans's back and remembered the meeting that had taken place after Frisk had managed to stop bawling and had started pestering Sans with questions and relieved happiness.

Sans had been aware of their sign language, but when he had first seen it his eyes had flickered and he had whispered apologies until Frisk had cut him off and told him to forget about it. The two had talked some on Papyrus and the subject of finishing this RESET, although Sans had tactfully steered clear from mentioning Gaster in the conversation. Maybe one day Frisk would get Sans to talk about him.

But now, walking down the path with them, Frisk was very glad that they had Papyrus and Sans to remember all of this. Even if some of these memories hurt, even if they were painful... all of it looked like it would end up even in the end. Maybe even better. Although, despite all of the catching up the three had to do, they had all agreed to act normal whenever someone else was nearby. For the last run, at least, they all wanted that which they had only caught a short glimpse of prior to this RESET.

A future outside of the Underground.

.

The door was there again.

Frisk didn't hesitate, vanishing inside even as they knew Sans was probably lingering outside the door, waiting for their return so he could blatantly follow them via his sentry stands.

Gaster was working this time, his black ethereal form flickering in the darkness. _[Hello, Frisk. What is it that you require?]_

(Nothing. I just… how are you?) Frisk signed awkwardly.

_[Adequate. This form is most peculiar; I can see all of the runs you have ever completed, and all of the runs you will never do. The code also seems more responsive to me; it seems I have found a project worthy of my interests. Preventing any of these repeat runs to start creating glitches and viruses in the code.]_

(I'm glad,) Frisk motioned. (…Papyrus and Sans both seem very happy, by the way.)

 _[…I see.]_ Gaster blinked once, and then turned away. _[Is that all, Frisk?]_

Frisk thought about it, and then shook their head and grinned. (Can I come visit you once in a while?)

Gaster quirked a brow bone, looking unimpressed. _[I shall not stop you, although that action is entirely unnecessary.]_

Frisk smiled up at the skeleton. (It's necessary to me. I'll try and convince Sans to enter some time in the future as well!)

They turned and scurried out, Gaster gazing out after them. As the door swung shut, Gaster's flickering white pupils masked the thoughts he was ruminating about inside of his head.

What a curious human child.

.

"Go on, Frisk. They're all waiting for you," Asriel said kindly. "Besides… just between you and me, I'm not alone anymore."

(What do you mean?) Frisk signed, glad that the prince had also once studied Wing Dings as part of his education.

Asriel tilted his head and smiled. "Some memories last forever, Frisk. Even if I go back to a flower, it'll be okay. I'm not as lonely anymore, so it's fine. Go on, okay? You're going to do great. I know you already have, after all."

Frisk blinked, and as their eyes flicked to the side they saw two red eyes appear over Asriel's shoulder staring straight back at them. But when they checked, the strange appearance was already gone, although Frisk could have sworn…

Frisk smiled. (Take care then, okay?) They signed back. They turned to leave for the last time, hesitating to look back at the prince for one last time. (…both of you.)

Asriel smiled sadly and waved goodbye as Chara whispered something into his ear. Then, before he would turn back into a flower, Asriel turned to go play a game with Chara. They had a lot of catching up to do, after all. And Asriel didn't want to waste a single moment of it.

.

The door to the outside world was vastly huge and terrifying to Frisk, as always. They stared up at it, considering the ramifications of what would happen once they crossed its threshold. Everyone would leave to go into the outside world and then...

Frisk didn't really know what would happen next.

Frisk hesitated. Once they moved forwards, they would move into unknown territory. The knowledge of the world and everyone's actions they had accumulated would be gone. And that was honestly, more than just a little bit scary.

Suddenly hands pressed against Frisk's back and shoved them, stumbling, forwards out into the sunlight.

 **"Go on,"** a voice ordered, amusement clear in their voice. **"This is what you wanted, right? If it's you, then it'll be all right, Frisk."**

Frisk turned, glancing behind them, but there was nobody there. They snorted in amusement, grinning, and turned, starting to walk but breaking into a run as they raced to everyone's side to gaze out at the morning sun.

.

"actually, tori, paps and i were thinking frisk should come stay with us," Sans said, gazing out at the sun. He turned and grinned sheepishly at Toriel and Frisk, hands stuffed in his pockets. "after all, you might not know this, but uh, the kid here stayed at our house for quite a while. it wouldn't feel right to, uh, not see 'em anymore."

"What? But you're not the one that Frisk asked to call mother," Toriel laughed in amusement.

"they could if they wanted to!" sans argued jokingly. They both turned to look at Frisk, who grinned and shrugged.

(Sorry Sans, I'm not calling you mom anytime soon. Maybe dunkle,) they signed, giggling.

"WELL, I MUST INSIST THAT FRISK STAYS AT OUR HOUSE AS WELL. I HAVE A LOT OF PASTA RESTAURANTS TO TEST AND I NEED MY CO-CHIEF TO COME TASTE THEM WITH ME FOR THAT," Papyrus proclaimed, resting a hand on Frisk's shoulder.

Toriel glanced down at Frisk, who was beaming quietly, and sighed. "Fine. How about I get to keep Frisk during the week to make sure they're getting the necessary education, and you take them during the weekend? Frisk, what do you think of that?"

(I… I'd really like that,) Frisk signed back awkwardly, their smile widening.

"NYEHEHE, WE CAN HAVE SLEEPOVERS EVERY WEEK!" Papyrus shouted eagerly, scooping Frisk up and posing dramatically.

"No fair, punk, you need to come visit my house as well!" Undyne protested, and then all of the monsters looked at each other and laughed.

Papyrus turned and grinned at Frisk. "HEY FRISK, WE'RE MONSTER KIND'S MASCOT AND AMBASSADOR, SO WE SHOULD GO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION TOGETHER! NYEHEHE!"

And Papyrus raced off down the mountain, Frisk clinging to his neck and guessing Sans would be along shortly, followed by everyone else.

After all, Frisk had a very large family now.

.

"so, kiddo. you've got school tomorrow. plus, aren't you helping asgore sign another treaty for monsters to be able to take residence anywhere they want? shouldn't you head to bed?" Sans asked, yawning. "you don't want to be bone tired, after all. that's a pretty big day."

(No way,) Frisk signed. (Come on Sans, we've never seen this movie before, we can't stop here! Besides, the couch is way more comfortable than my bed.)

"heh. fine, fine, y'know i'm weak to that face." Sans laughed. "and even after pap and I added an extra room to the replica of our house for you, we still camp out here every night. go figure, huh?"

(It can't be helped- this couch is comfortable!) The two lapsed back into a comfortable silence, and then Frisk perked up and signed at Sans again. (Hey, do you know what else tomorrow is?)

"nope. what's tomorrow?"

(My birthday!)

Sans blinked, smile widening. "whoah really?" He studied Frisk, and tussled their hair again. "well then, i have to think of a really humerus pun just for your special day."

(Hehe, Sans, that was awful. Aren't you running a bit bone-dry on puns?) Frisk asked innocently.

Sans snorted, opening his mouth to reply when a voice yelled at them from upstairs.

"IF YOU'RE GOING TO STAY UP, PLEASE STOP THE PUNS. PLEASE, SANS, I'M BEGGING YOU, SOME OF US DON'T ACTUALLY ENJOY HEARING PUNS UNTIL TWO IN THE MORNING!"

Sans and Frisk turned to each other, and San's laughter grew even louder while Frisk clapped their hands in amusement as the moon and stars glittered overhead through a window.

And in the end it was okay. It was all worth it.


	25. Notice

The sequel is up, for those following the story. Thanks!

**Author's Note:**

> Upon finishing this chapter, you are filled with the DETERMINATION to leave a comment.


End file.
